WASHINGTON TERRACE — The first time Bonneville goalie Karson Vanderhoof went out with an injury, it didn’t take Northridge long to cash in on a cold keeper.
Three and a half minutes after Vanderhoof left the game, Hunter Gessell emerged from a scrum in front of the net and scored what proved to be the last — and winning — goal for Northridge in the 21st minute of play.
“I cut through people, stole the ball, dribbled by three people, then shot between him and the post,” Gessell said. “Just a goal, I guess.”
Northridge goaltender Matt Ramirez had allowed a Bonneville goal in the eighth minute, then made Gessell’s shot stand the test of time, and the Knights rode away with a 2-1 victory in a rugged Region 5 duel.
Gessell was involved in the collision with Vanderhoof moments before, but there was no warning or yellow card issued at that time on what was judged as a 50/50 ball by the officials.
Bonneville coach Jared Anderson disagreed, saying, from his point of view, “It can’t be a 50/50 ball when the keeper comes out and gets possession and then someone piles into him. That’s not a 50/50 ball, that’s a red card.”
Fortunately, Vanderhoof returned 30 seconds after the Gessell goal and kept the Knights off the board until the 56th minute when he went down for the second time with a serious knee injury that did draw a red card on Northridge, who played a man short the rest of the way.
“The issue I had on the first one, is when a ref doesn’t keep that under control, that’s a major, major, major issue,” Anderson said. “That’s why on the other one, I ended getting so upset. I think he got his CLC torn. It should have been addressed and it got out of control. When you’re carrying three different guys off the field, there’s a reason.”
Playing a man short, Northridge (4-3, 1-2 Region 5) was able to adjust and hold on for the win.
“We have a 3-5-2, so we change it to a 3-5-1; one guy attacking, Gessell said. “If we get the opportunity we want to score, but mostly slow the game down.”
Ramirez gave up the early goal but made two great saves in the final 15 minutes as Bonneville (3-6, 2-2) made a few desperate attempts to get back to even.
“We just ignored the high press and defended really tight. Locked in and did our best. Once we lost a man on the red card, we just used our formation and stayed focused,” Ramirez said. “I had to forget about what happened earlier and see what I could do right thereafter.”
Bonneville’s goal came off the foot of Parker DeGroot and Northridge tied it at one on a penalty kick by Jackson Bunn in the 11th minute.
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