Valdez, Cardinals move on to 2nd round

The seventh-seeded Lindsay Cardinals were able to slip past the 10th-seeded Firebaugh Eagles and secure their first Division V playoff victory in three years by way of a 1-0 win, Tuesday night.

“It was great; it gets the monkey off my back after having two playoff losses so to get a win this year is relieving,” Lindsay coach Freddy Martinez said.

The two teams were evenly matched throughout the first half and had trouble trying to break through the opposing team’s defense. The Cardinals were able to control the ball and determine where the ball was, but they could not pass well enough once they were close to the goal.

“They just needed to get their heads in the game. Today we played slow. We usually play with a much higher tempo,” Martinez said. “Their defense played very aggressively and it threw us off of our game.”

After a scoreless first half, with just 22 minutes left in the contest the tie was finally broken when Cardinals’ forward Angelica Valdez was in the goal box and caught the Eagles’ goalie out of position. Valdez was able to get her shot off low into the far side of the goal to take a 1-0 lead.

“It felt good seeing Angelica score that. She is a senior and I know that she was prepared to come out and play in a tough game like this and be able to go home with a win,” Martinez said.

Lindsay continued its stingy defense for the remainder of the game and kept Firebaugh from spoiling its chance to advance.

The Cardinals were able to almost take a 2-0 lead late in the game off of a free kick but it missed wide left.

With this victory, the Cardinals will travel to the central coast to face the defending Division V champions Mission Prep (16-4-3).

“We know we have a tough game ahead of us against Mission Prep because they are the defending champs,” Martinez said. “I just need to make sure that my defense is solid before going into the game Thursday.”

Lindsay and Mission Prep had one common opponent during the regular season, Strathmore. Lindsay played Strathmore two times during the season and lost both of them by a combined score of 11-0. Mission Prep faced and defeated Strathmore the one time the two teams played by a score of 2-0.