BATTALION ADVANCE TO SECOND ROUND WITH 5-3 VICTORY OVER RIVERSIDE CORAS

The North County Battalion found themselves in a familiar place. Down 2-1 at half in an important game they needed to regroup and mount a comeback. The difference this time was that if they did not do what they had done time and time again and win, the season would come to an abrupt end. Once again the Battalion came through and outscored Coras 4-1 in the second half to pull out the 5-3 victory.

Coras took an early lead in the eighth minute. After the Battalion were called for a foul, Edgar Llamas sent in a free kick towards goal and Cody Shelton headed the ball past James Stroud to put the away team 1-0.

In the 31st minute Coras doubled their lead to 2-0. A Coras player sent in a centering pass that bounced off a Battalion defender and landed in the box at the feet of Llamas in front of the goal. Llamas slammed the ball past Stroud leaving the home fans shocked and silenced by the early deficit.

Right before the half the Battalion goal got a much needed goal by Nelson Pizarro. Pizarro corralled a pass from Eric Lopez and took a shot from 15 yards out that hit right under the crossbar and over the diving Coras goalie Alonso Lara-Barajas. The goal brought the Battalion back in the game and swung the momentum in their favor.

In the second half the Battalion continued their pressure from the first half. In the 53rd minute Coras forward Bruno Meyer was awarded a red card for a spikes first tackle on Sasha Peranteau. With a one man advantage and facing a one goal deficit the Battalion seemed poised to tie the game.

Nine minutes later the Battalion did just that. The team strung together a series of three beautiful passes to spring Tim Roty in on goal. Roty calmly pushed the ball past the goalie to make the score 2-2. Roty’s first Battalion goal came at the most opportune time and really put the Coras defense on their heels.

In the 75th minute the Battalion took their first lead of the game. Esteban Reyes took a pass from Lopez just outside of the box. With no one within five feet of him he blasted a shot that whizzed past the diving Coras keeper to put the home team up 3-2.

It seemed like the Battalion had the game in hand, however Coras had other ideas. Ramon Nunez sped past the Battalion defense and came in on Stroud. Stroud came out to cut the angle, however Nunez slotted the ball into the net. With 10 minutes remaining in the game the score was tied at three.

With the game still in doubt the Battalion were awarded a penalty for a Coras hand ball. Justin Picou, like he had last week, stepped up and this time finessed a shot past the goal keeper to put the Battalion up one in the 88th minute.

Coras was forced to pressure for the equalizer and in the 91st minute they carelessly turned the ball over. Adam Meltz picked off the Coras clear and passed the ball towards goal to Lopez. Lopez moved the ball towards Pizarro who sent the ball into the goal. This put the score 5-3 in favor of the Battalion and iced the game for the men in black.

The win runs the Battalion’s league undefeated streak to nine games, ten straight if you count non-league matches. Their last loss came on May 1st and since then they have rattled off seven league wins and two ties. Next week the Battalion will be on the road for the second round of the NPSL playoffs. Follow the live stream of the game on NCBattalion.com.