Coyotes, Lancers fight to a deadlock

Calabasas and Thousand Oaks tied 3-3 in boys’ soccer last Friday, keeping the two teams locked into second place behind Royal in the chase for a Marmonte League championship. Both the Coyotes and Lancers were 6-1-2 in league after the tie. Thousand Oaks was 18-3-2 overall while Calabasas was 13-3-4.

The game’s momentum swung back and forth, the score was tied 2-2 at halftime, and the teams took turns having the upper hand.

"Coach (John) Reich said at halftime, ‘This is like two heavyweight boxers in the ring just nailing each other,’ and that’s pretty much what it was," said Calabasas’ senior midfielder Ben Van Der Fluit. "There are a lot of good players on both teams and we were really going at it."

Calabasas went ahead, 1-0, when Warren Doyle, a senior fullback, scored just three minutes into the action. T.O. tied the score on a goal by junior Jason Leopoldo, then took a 2-1 lead on a goal by senior Pedro Gonzalez. The Coyotes quickly tied it at 2 on a goal by Stephen Udoff.

Early in the second half, Van Der Fluit headed in the go-ahead goal making it, 3-2. But then the Lancers dominated a large part of the second half, attempting to tie the score at three.

"After we scored to start the second half," said Van Der Fluit, "they took it to us a little bit."

T.O. tied the score at three on a penalty kick by Gonzalez, his second goal of the game.

"I’m sure the crowd loved six goals in the game," said Van Der Fluit, who added (looking ahead to the remainder of the league season), "It’s going to be a heated race."

Calabasas head coach John Reich said his team, which had beaten Thousand Oaks earlier in the league season, handled well the pressure-packed atmosphere at Thousand Oaks High School.

"There was a tremendous atmosphere," Reich said about the game’s buildup. "It was intense and I thought we handled it quite well. The kids played their hearts out."

Reich said his team was prepared for a back-and-forth game.

"Try to weather the predictable shifts of momentum," Reich said. "In other words, when T.O. starts to really just feel it, and knock it around, the key is not to dive in and not to overrun the ball."

Reich said his team’s ability to clear kicks to relieve pressure was also a key.

"Against a team like T.O.—with incredibly good strikers—we really talked and worked on making good clearance kicks," said Reich.

The Coyote coach said it’s vital to take advantage of shifts in momentum that swing your way. "It’s a matter of continuing the pressure," Reich said, "and not to let them dodge it."

Reich said the Marmonte League is a premier conference this season.

"It’s one hell of a league," Reich said. "Don’t forget, Westlake and Agoura are there. It says this is a fantastic league overall and the survivor will be really seasoned for the playoffs. These three teams (Royal, Calabasas and Thousand Oaks) are beating each other up and hopefully we’ll each emerge stronger regarding the playoffs."

After playing Newbury Park on Monday and Agoura on Wednesday, Calabasas was scheduled to face first-place Royal in Simi Valley tomorrow at 5 p.m.

Reich said he isn’t happy that now, this late in the season, his team and the other Marmonte League teams have to play three times per week.

"It’s incredibly hard on these kids and I really don’t think we ought to go at this intensity this late (in the season)," said Reich.