Elk Grove handles Fenton at Stach Tournament
Elk Grove (5-3-1) cruised to a 3-0 victory Saturday afternoon over visiting Fenton in pool play of the Stach Tournament.
The hosts played like veterans in the second half after a less than sparkling first 40 minutes of soccer allowed the Bison (4-6-1) to stay close, leaving Grens assistant coach Dan Klaus eager for intermission. At that point, he made sure his club understood what he expected of it after the break.
"We weren't playing with any urgency (at) all in that first half," said Klaus, who'd stepped in for coach Joe Bush, who along with his wife Becky welcomed young Daniel Joseph into the world on Friday. "But it was a tale of two halves, and we played much better to get ourselves a good result today."
It appeared from the onset the Grens would be well on their way to an easy win when Jon Pachar found the back of the net at fives minutes as captain Leif Lundgren played a terrific diagonal ball to help spring Pachar.
The goal failed to provide much more momentum for Elk Grove, which watched Fenton find its best creator in the middle, Mariano Herrera, far too often. He connected with Alan Aguirre and Giovanni Ballon, who tested and stretched the backline of Rafal Borys, Daike Abe, Matt Ginter and Trevor Cwiok.
The Bison received some help from junior keeper Pedro Acuna, who turned back several quality chances from the Grens, including Pachar at 22 minutes and leading scorer Cesar Rodriguez when the junior striker bore down on him after a well-paced free kick from Pachar.
Acuna had no chance on an own-goal at 53 minutes when the Grens' sixth corner of the half was redirected into the net.
Fenton was not able to maintain possession until just after it allowed the second goal of the match. Then the Bison had a chance to cut into the lead - only to be dined when Grens keeper Mike Monegato sprinted off his line to steer a Herrera attempt wide.
Senior Kevin Mayo, who hustled for the Grens up top, was rewarded for his work when he sent Rodriguez through to beat the Bison trap in the 76th minute.
"Mental mistakes, and not having some of our guys stepping up to play like varsity players has led to (our) season that's gone win-loss-win-loss," said Fenton coach David Alvarez. "Until we change that, it's going to be that way for us."