NEWS RELEASE
April 24, 2006

ROOKS SETTLE FOR  1 - 1 DRAW WITH FROGS
Late Goal Ties it Up

A late score by San Jose Frogs resulted in a 1 – 1 draw in what should have been an easy victory for the Rooks.  Chico (2 –0 – 1) had the run of play for the first 75minutes of play and appeared to be on their way to their third victory.  However, in the final fifteen minutes of play the Rooks began to struggle defensively, conceding a San Jose goal with less than 5minutes left in the match.

In the first frame Chico dominated play by keeping the Frogs under pressure in there half of the field. After several near misses, Mario Castillo forced a San Jose defender to cough the ball up and raced to goal in the 37^th minute.  As the Frogs keeper attempted to cut his angle Castillo blasted a shot to the lower right corner from 16 yards out for his first goal of the season.  At the intermission, Chico had out shot the Frogs 9 to 1 and had a 1 – 0 advantage.

In the second half the Rooks had several opportunities to put the game out of reach but came up short.  In the 63^rd minute Kevin Kuiper rifled an 18-yard shot that glanced off the post.  Later in the half both Keith Ratzburg and Joe Munoz had their efforts sail just wide of the far post. 

In the waning moments of the game, as both teams tired, the game opened up and the Frogs were able to mount several counter attacks.  In the 87^th minute a Chico turnover resulted in a corner kick for San Jose.  On the corner Dannylo Ayllon sent a cross into the box that the Rooks had trouble clearing.  The loose ball bounced to Ignacio Gutierrez who quickly volleyed it past the Rooks keeper, Nick Clark, from 12 yards out for the equalizer.

“You let the ball roll around in there like that and you just open yourself up for that type of thing to happen,” said Clark.  Despite mustering19 shots to four for the Frogs, Chico had to settle for the 1 – 1 draw.  “Overall I was pleased with our performance tonight,” said Rooks head coach David Stahl, “but we should have been able to put a couple more (goals) away to put the game out of reach.”

This weekend Chico will be on the road as they travel play the Salinas Valley Samba on Saturday and the Redwood City Ruckus on Sunday.  The Rooks will return home the following week when they host the Sonoma County Solon Friday, May 5^th.

  | Back |