Sweetwater Gets Tie With Bonita Vista

NATIONAL CITY —  Sweetwater put off completing its first Metro Conference championship in boys soccer when it lost an early lead Friday and had to settle for a 1-1 tie with Bonita Vista.

The celebration, however, commenced immediately after the final whistle. And why not? Sweetwater (18-2-4, 9-1-3 in conference) entered the day in first place, a half-game ahead of Bonita Vista (15-3-3, 8-2-3). With one game remaining, the Red Devils still cling to their precarious lead.

But their most demanding challenge is over--Bonita Vista was the county’s No. 1-ranked team.

Guess who was No. 2? Sweetwater no doubt will move up a notch in the next coaches’ poll.

Even Bonita Vista Coach Milt Shadoan seemed to think so.

“Sweetwater had a hell of a year,” he said. “You can’t take anything away from them.”

Bonita Vista, however, would like to take back the goal it gave Sweetwater late in the first half.

In the 38th minute, Sweetwater’s Julio Roman took a free kick from just inside the midfield stripe and launched it deep into the penalty area. The ball landed amid three players: Sweetwater’s Jesus Roman, Bonita Vista goalie James Lawson and teammate Darin Clark.

Clark and Lawson lunged at the ball, but both let it get by them.

There was Roman all alone some 10 yards in front of the goal. He looked down, saw the ball at his feet, looked up, saw two posts 16 feet apart, and kicked. 1-0.

It was ironic that Bonita Vista tied it on another mishap. Some five minutes into the second half, the Barons were awarded a direct free kick 35 yards from the goal. Ryan Yakubik lined up to take it and tried sending it over Sweetwater’s four-man wall.

Except Yakubik mis-kicked it and the ball rolled slowly through the stunned defensive wall and toward the goal. Rodney Rinks emerged from a crowd to get his right foot on the ball and sent it just inside the right post for the 1-1 tie.

The Barons nearly went ahead with five minutes to go when Radcliffe Dacanay sent a throw-in into the goal mouth. The ball glanced off several heads and appeared headed for the goal. Instead, it bounced off the far post.