Braves blank Esparto for soccer title

Decisions, decisions. When you make them you have to live with them, or in some cases, die by them.

That was the case in Saturday's Division III championship soccer game in Hamilton City, as two decisions on the part of visiting Esparto helped Hamilton score a 2-0 win and claim the championship plaque.

Under sunny skies and on a field in remarkably good shape considering the recent rains, the Braves and Spartans kicked off, and at least for the first half, it appeared Esparto may have the upper hand.

Early on, a lofted shot from near midfield just missed the mark and went over the crossbar. Still in the first half, the Spartans rocketed another ball that found the crossbar this time, but Hamilton and keeper Jose De Jesus Flores were able to fend off the attack and the first half ended scoreless.

The second half could have ended the same way, but a moment of indecisiveness gave Hamilton the break it needed.

Gonzalo Beltran took a shot toward the Esparto goal - not a missile by any means - but the Esparto keeper inexplicably chose not to play the ball, feeling it was going to land wide. Instead it came to rest in the back of the goal, giving Hamilton a 1-0 lead.

"It just went in, I can't describe how it felt," smiled Beltran. "The first goal made their heads go down when they saw it."

It also forced Esparto coach Matthew Glavan into a decision that did not sit well with many Esparto supporters.

With about a minute remaining and his team down a goal, Glavan decided to pull his goalie in favor of a 12th attacker. The move backfired when Beltran won a race for a loose ball and steered it into the empty net.

When the whistle sounded, it was time for a Braves' celebration.

"The way the game was going, I didn't know if the one goal would hold up," said Hamilton coach Mitch Esparza, but he gave huge kudos to his defense for making it stick.

"(Flores) was outstanding. To get a shutout in a section title game is almost unheard of."

"We go all-around great defensive play. Raul Flores, Francisco Salinas, Rodolpho Valdovinos and Erik Torres played the entire game without subs." he added.

Hamilton finished the season with a record of 10-8-1.

Craig Purcell is sports editor for Tri-County Newspapers. Contact him at 824-1036 or cpurcell@tcnpress.com.