Giants men's soccer closes with two straight wins
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
The College of the Sequoias men's soccer team closed its first season under coach Renato Bustamante with a flourish.
The Giants combined to score eight goals while sweeping a pair of games against Allan Hancock over the weekend to wrap up a six-game season that was delayed and shortened because of safety precautions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sequoias saved its best for last, scoring a season-high five times during a 5-2 win over the visiting Bulldogs on March 20 to finish 3-2-1, the program's first winning season since 2017.
"I have very positive feelings from the season and the fact we finished with a winning record," Bustamante said. "A lot of players bought into what we are doing at COS."
The Giants came roaring back from an early 2-0 deficit on March 20, getting three goals in a 25-minute span of the first half.
Brian Perez (Redwood High) got Sequoias on the board in the 14th minute when he scored off a feed from Salvador Chavez (Redwood).
Alejandro Saldana (El Diamante) tied the score 2-2 in the 27th minute, scoring off an assist from Christian Velarde (Reedley).
And Cesar Melgar (Monache) gave the Giants the lead 3-2 in the 39th minute on a goal assisted by Saldana.
Sequoias pulled away late in the game, getting a goal by Sebastian Caballero-Lopez (Golden West) that was assisted by Osvaldo Ibarra-Sanchez (Strathmore) in the 81st minute, and an unassisted goal by Marques Carrillo (Golden West) in the 84th minute.
Sequoias was one of only four California community colleges that opted to play in a season that won't count against a player's athletic eligibility, all the while undergoing daily testing for Covid-19 and following safety protocols.
"We've got to give thanks to (President/Superintendent) Brent Calvin, (Athletics Director) Brent Davis and our athletic training staff -- Dennis (Goebel), Lisa (Lorenzi) and Sergio (Contreras)," Bustamante said. "Without them, this would not have been possible. The boys and I are thankful for all the work they did behind the scenes."
Melgar had a goal and an assist to lead the Giants to a 3-2 win on March 19 in Santa Maria.
Melgar opened the scoring with a goal assisted by Carlos Siliezar (Redwood) and Saldana in the 15th minute.
Melgar assisted Caballero-Lopez' goal in the 60th minute to put Sequoias up 2-0.
Two minutes later, the Giants made it 3-0 as Ibarra-Sanchez scored off an assist from Dominic Ayala (Hanford).
Allan Hancock made it close with two goals over the final 30 minutes.
"It takes time to jell together and understand each other's tendencies," Bustamante said. "It just took familiarity with each other. The last couple games, we showed what we are capable of. There was constant growth. That as a coach leaves me very satisfied and optimistic about what's to come."
A season after getting shut out six times, Sequoias scored at least one goal in all six of its games and averaged 2.6 goals per game.
Caballero-Lopez finished as the Giants' leading scorer with five goals and an assist.
Melgar had three goals and an assist, Ibarra-Sanchez added two goals and an assist and Carrillo had two goals.
Saldana was the team's leader in assists with four to go along with one goal. Velarde had two assists and one goal.
Siliezar, Chavez and Mathew Ramirez (Lemoore) all contributed two assists.
"I'm very content with the boys. They are hard-working kids with a desire to learn and a desire to get better," Bustamante said. "As a coach, you can only be grateful to have kids like that."
Bustamante said attention now turns toward preparing for the expected return of complete championship seasons across California community college athletics in the fall.
"I think it's of great help," Bustamante said of Sequoias' decision to compete in the spring season. "This has given us a platform to get to know each other, know our identity, know what our strengths are and know what our weaknesses are so we can get better and compete at the level we want to compete at.
"I'm very thankful for the opportunity to be the head coach of this program and these boys. And I'm very excited about the experiences to come."
