Oilers turn corner, but fall to Mustangs

On Wednesday night the Richmond Oilers (0-2-1) lost to the Monte Vista Mustangs (5-0-0) by the score of 2-1. The game was played under a sea of fog as players’ battled visibility and a slippery field the entire night.

In the first half Monte Vista came out kicking and took a commanding 2-0 lead. Prior to their contest against the Oilers, the Mustangs had never given up a goal, and had outscored opponents by 13 goals.

After 40 minutes this match appeared no different.

At halftime the Richmond coaching staff huddled together to rearrange pieces of the puzzle. Players, meanwhile, sat in a semicircle waiting for new instructions and talked amongst themselves about what went wrong.

“Lack of luck,” said head coach Rene Siles as he walked away from the halftime huddle. “We played better in that first half than we played so far in competition. We took a couple shots but defensively we’re a bit too slow in the center and we’re giving them too many chances.”

With new pieces in place, Richmond started the second half with more zeal and enthusiasm. Monte Vista countered by playing more bully-like. Several Richmond players were injured in the second half while Mustang players mouthed off to officials.

Eight minutes into the second half Richmond scored on a direct kick after senior Erik Alejandro Montes was tripped from behind by the last Monte Vista defender just outside the penalty box.

“I don’t know if that was a penalty kick and a red card,” Montes said about beating the last Monte Vista defender, “but it is what it is and I got to keep playing the game.”

Siles told his players after the game that the type of refereeing they got against the Mustangs would be the type of refereeing they’d get in the playoffs. “We don’t get many breaks,” he said. “That’s the way it is. What you have to do is let your coaches deal with it but you stay focused on the game.”

Co-head coach Jasko Begovic echoed those sentiments and told his players that it was a lot of fun being on the sideline watching them compete. “We still have to fix little things but overall I think this is a win for the long term,” he said. “It felt like Richmond is back. It’s just the beginning.”

Richmond’s next game is Saturday at Foothill High in Pleasanton. Game time: 2 p.m.