The Cerro Coso Coyotes opened Inland Empire Conference play on October 7th against the Chaffey Panthers. The final score was 14–1 in favor of Chaffey.
Cerro Coso's goal came at the 33:50 mark of the first half when Reagan Harper scored unassisted to make it 7–1.
The Coyotes will continue conference play in the coming weeks, looking to build on this experience and prepare for their next matchup.
Eduardo Miranda
The Daily Independent
The Cerro Coso men's soccer team made history hosting Chaffey in the team's first Inland Empire Athletic Conference home match. This was only the second home match for the Coyotes, who looked to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Coyotes had a daunting task of facing a Chaffey team that is unranked in the latest 3C2A poll but did receive 19 votes. The Coyotes' conference debut, including a small blackout and the scoreboard turning off for the final four minutes, resulted in the Coyotes losing to the Panthers 14-1.
Head coach Joseph Bouchelle said on his team's performance, "we came up against a really good Chaffey team. They are consistently No. 1, 2, or 3 in the conference and very good in the state. We are very young and played short numbers, and it showed quickly. It was a tough game."
The Coyotes were playing shorthanded against a full-strength Panthers squad. In the first half, the Coyotes fell behind 9-1. The Coyotes' first conference goal was scored in the 33rd minute by Reagan Harper on a shot from distance that curved over the outreached hand of the visiting keeper and went under the crossbar.
Chaffey scored the first goal in the fourth minute after the forward rounded past Cerro Coso keeper Jake Reichert for an open-net goal. In the eighth minute, Chaffey scored a second attacking from the left wing and making a pass the right wing where the Panther forward beat the defender and keeper. The third goal for Chaffey was scored on a free kick that was taken at Reichert, who could not control the ball.
Two minutes later, Chaffey scored on a header at the right post in open play. Chaffey went up 5-0 in the 20th minute on a shot from outside the box to the right post. Three minutes later, Chaffey scored on chip shot over a diving Reichert. A minute later, Chaffey went ahead 7-0 with an open shot in the middle of the box.
The final two goals in the first half came from a shot to the left post and on a free kick that went past Reichert's hand.
Cerro Coso had a few moments beyond Harper's solo goal. Abraham Beltran had a shot in the beginning of the first half that went past the left post. He made a through pass forcing the Chaffey keeper to come out and stop a scoring chance. The Coyotes had a corner kick that went past Harper's header attempt. TraMar Dobbins had a rebound attempt that was caught by the opposing keeper.
Cerro Coso had a few build-up plays where the players were able to move the ball against Chaffey with most being done from the wings. The players showed they were capable of playing quick passes into open spaces and move the ball up toward the opposing keeper. But the team struggled in the final third of the game where they made passes to runs that did not happen, could have taken a shot at the keeper, or held on to the ball too long allowing the Chaffey defense to collapse and steal the ball and start a counter attack.
In the second half, Chaffey opened the scoring in the 46th minute with a corner kick that the Panthers won but the shot was blocked by Reichert, but the rebound fell to an open Chaffey player for a tap in. In the 48th minute, Chaffey had a low shot that deflected off a Coyotes defender that went away from the keeper and into the right post.
In the 51st minute, the referee awarded Chaffey a penalty after a perfectly executed slide tackle from the defender where he won and cleared the ball. Chaffey scored on the penalty to the left post. The final two goals came in the 83rd minute with a shot from inside the box and in the 90 minute on a shot to the left post.
For Bouchelle, who is a young coach, and his team, which is young and learning to play at the collegiate level, there was some positive from the loss. The Coyotes coach knows that Chaffey – and many of his Inland Empire Athletic Conference opponents – are programs that Cerro Coso is looking to imitate, and it was a chance to learn from them.
Bouchelle said, "these are opportunities to learn, and it's tough when you come out and have this type of score line. But it's a chance to see what the top competition in the conference is. You have to review film – which is going to be tough, but you have to do it. You review film and see where we lacked, and where we were good and build on those moments."
But the Coyotes coach did see plenty of good from his squad's performance and knows that they will learn from the loss and continue to work toward putting out a product that fans will enjoy.
"We had some really, really good moments, and that was one of things I tried to kind of pick the boys up at halftime. We really had some really pretty moments of pretty football, and moving and moving off the ball, the boys moving quickly with one-two touches, quick passes, one-two passes. Those are the things we have to build on, and one of the things I always say is fans would rather come and watch a team who wants to play regardless of the result. If you have guys who want to play who are energetic, it's fun, and you can tell they want to be there, that's what fans appreciate," he said.
Cerro Coso (1-6, 0-1) continues conference play with the first conference road game on Friday at No. 5 San Bernardino Valley. Kick-off is set for a 4 p.m. start. Bouchelle spoke on what he wants to see from his team.
"Fight. Just see some fight. We should have more numbers on Friday that will help a lot. Depth always help, but fight and being together as a team and as a program," he said.