The Whitney High School soccer team held off a second-half push by Lincoln to win their first home game of the season 2-1 last week.

As the preseason nears completion for both clubs, it was evident that both teams wanted momentum heading into conference play.

The first 28 minutes was a defensive battle, as three shots were recorded by both sides. It was at that point when the momentum began to shift in favor of Whitney. The Wildcats’ Justin Read took an inbounds pass and drove it in for the first goal of the game.

Three minutes later, Read set up the assist for Jacob Scott’s goal and a 2-0 advantage in favor of Whitney.

Lincoln had a tough time adjusting defensively, as the Wildcats got off three more shots on goal following their game-winning goal. But the Fighting Zebras goalkeeper Matthew Contreras kept his squad in the game by snatching all three of them.

“We were pretty organized out there during the first half,” said Whitney head coach Joel Williams. “We got the looks that we wanted out there.”

The Wildcats out shot Lincoln 7-1, but Contreras nabbed five of his seven saves in that first half.

“He’s actually a first-year goalie,” said Lincoln head coach George Bonilla, “He has stepped up and wanted to play the position this year.  He did an awesome job out there today.”

Physicality became a key factor in the second frame, as the Fighting Zebra’s began to chip away at the Wildcats’ defensive front.

But penalty kicks, corner kicks and even Lincoln’s regular shots could not get past the Whitney defenders.

After a few minutes of battle deep in Wildcats territory, Whitney got the ball down the field and drove it deep into Fighting Zebras territory. Whitney did its best to put this game out of reach early in the second half.

The ‘Cats got off a shot that appeared would score, but Contreras made a great save to end the threat.

Momentum then swung to Lincoln, as the Zebras drove the ball back down the field and kept the Wildcats on their toes.

“In the second half we lost our mental focus,” said Williams. “That’s what gets us late in games this season; but we played Lincoln very physical in the second half.”

After battling hard for most of the half, the Fighting Zebra’s finally found the net. The Zebras connected in the 69th minute to avoid the shutout on an unassisted goal by Christian Guzman.

The final six minutes became physical as the two clubs battled to gain an advantage. Lincoln (3-3-1) challenged to earn a tie and Whitney (3-3-2) fought to keep their lead.

With time running out, Guzman drove down field and exchanged passes with Logan Hasty. The pass back from Hasty allowed Guzman to get a shot off on goal, but Wildcats’ goalie Kyle Creighton slapped it away.

 “We have five returning players and a lot of JV players who are learning the system,” said Bonilla, “They are getting better every day and every game.”

WHITNEY 2, LINCOLN 1

Wildcats         2          0 – 2

Zebras            0          1 – 1

SCORING

W – Read (unassisted) 28th minute

W – Scott (Read assist) 31st minute

Second Half

L – Guzman (unassisted) 69th minute

Saves

Lincoln – 7, Whitney – 5

Shots on Goal

Lincoln – 9, Whitney – 9

Source: http://www.placerherald.com/article/whitney-scores-early-defeat-lincoln-2-1