“It feels good having a good offense. We’ve been confident at the (forward) position. We have a lot of speed and that helps.”
— Raphael Alcauter
Patterson High left-midfielder
MODESTO — By keeping the ball deep in Central Catholic’s side of the field, the Patterson High boys soccer team all but guaranteed something good would happen.
With the help of 27 shots on goal, the team scored early for a 4-0 win Wednesday, upping its league record to 2-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Left-midfielder Raphael Alcauter scored two of those goals.
“It feels good having a good offense,” Alcauter said. “We’ve been confident at the (forward) position. We have a lot of speed, and that helps.”
Earlier in the week, Patterson (6-2 overall) unleashed another barrage of offense in its league opener at home to blank Orestimba, 9-0, behind three goals from team leader Sergio Hinojosa.
Offense reigned supreme in both wins, but Patterson coach Greg Hartsell welcomed the defense even more.
“We’re really loaded up on defense,” he said. “Defense hasn’t been my concern since Game 1. We’re pretty strong back there.”
Cortez got Patterson on the board in the sixth minute against Central Catholic when his left-footed roller beat Raiders goalie Mo Garcia for a 1-0 lead.
Patterson kept Garcia busy throughout the first half, yet the Tigers came up short on several occasions. The Tigers passed cleanly and effortlessly with consistency, but they couldn’t turn shots into goals as often as Hartsell would have preferred.
“We had 27 shots, and only four of them went in,” Hartsell said. “We passed the ball well. As often as we got into the Central penalty box, we couldn’t finish. I’d call this an ugly win. We won, but it wasn’t the game we’re used to playing.”
Patterson finally converted seamlessly when Eduardo Chin delivered the first of his two assists to Alcauter, who dribbled, maneuvered and beat Garcia on a decisive shot to make it 2-0.
Midway through the second half, the Tigers opened up the game when Rodrigo Aldana scored his third goal of the week on an assist from Chin. Alcauter capped the scoring on an assist from Hinojosa minutes later for the 4-0 final score.
Patterson’s junior varsity defeated Central Catholic, 5-2, on Wednesday and duplicated the varsity’s shutout of Orestimba with its own 6-0 victory Monday.
Patterson competes in the Mustang Classic at Foothill in Sacramento today. The Tigers will return to league action Monday at Gustine.
To reach Mike Vanden Bosch at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at
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