Calistoga kept their unbeaten record against Credo on Wednesday, Oct. 21, winning 3-2 in Rohnert Park with an early goal from Mateo Medina and two from Leo Ramos.
Medina, a senior midfielder, opened the scoring on his own. Calistoga coach Cristian Escobedo named it the turning point of the game: "an early goal to set the tempo."
Ramos scored the other two, one on a counterattack and one at the end of a passing move. Escobedo singled out both seniors "for leading with goals and taking ownership of the midfield."
Calistoga had 60 percent of the ball in the first half and 70 percent in the second. That is the game Escobedo wants from his team. Asked this month to name its biggest strength, he answered "control through possession."
Credo still scored twice, and junior Braedan Swift, their leading scorer, set up one of the goals. The Gryphons had scored three in the first meeting, a 3-3 draw on Sept. 18, and their five goals across the two games are more than any opponent except Sonoma Academy has scored against Calistoga this fall. Calistoga won both meetings last season, 4-1 and 3-0.
The win took Calistoga to 14-2-2, and two days later they beat Laytonville 10-0. At 15-2-2 they are second in the North Central League II behind Sonoma Academy, the only team to beat them, both times by one goal. Credo fell to 12-6-2, then won 4-1 at Point Arena on Oct. 23, and they are 13-6-2 and third.
Calistoga, a school of fewer than 250 students, are ranked second in NCS Division 2. Credo, about twice their size, are ranked 10th in Division 1. Escobedo has said he wants his players "to believe that Calistoga belongs among the top programs in our division."
The midfield pair
In the games with recorded stats, Ramos has 33 goals and 15 assists, after 21 goals as a junior, and he was one goal off the lead on our Division II Golden Boot list on Oct. 20. He won a championship as a freshman, and Escobedo said he "is determined to finish his senior season by bringing another championship back to Calistoga."
Medina, in his first year at Calistoga as a foreign exchange student, has five goals and 11 assists. Escobedo calls him "a calm, composed, and reliable central midfielder."
Both graduate after this season. Escobedo expects sophomore Ulises Navarette, who has nine goals and seven assists, to take over in midfield, and freshman Alex Sarabio already has 18 goals.
What's next
Calistoga close the regular season at Anderson Valley on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The Wildcats won the first meeting 11-0 at home on Sept. 25, when Ramos scored four.
Editor's note: Inside The Ninety wants to tell more stories like this one. Records and results only go so far, and the best stories come from the people closest to the game. We thank Coach Escobedo for sharing his thoughts on this season's Calistoga team.
If you coach a team with a story worth telling, we want to hear from you. There might be a breakout player, a season that turned around, or a group doing more with less. Email us at insidetheninety@gmail.com or send us a DM.