Cimarron, Centennial play to boys soccer draw

Cimarron-Memorial boys soccer coach Mark Bailey thought his Spartans should have defeated Centennial on Thursday afternoon.

Bulldogs coach Paul George also thought his squad should have emerged victorious.

A 1-1 tie will have to do.

Seventh-ranked Cimarron-Memorial (8-3-2) and eighth-ranked Centennial (8-3-2) played to a draw and remained tied for second in the Northwest League behind top-ranked Palo Verde.

The Spartans will get their crack at the Panthers on Monday, and the Bulldogs will play Palo Verde on Oct. 17. Those games could decide what is essentially a three-team race for the league title.

“On the road, against Centennial, we’ll take 1-1,” Bailey said. “But we definitely wanted to win that game. We definitely feel like we can beat Centennial here. We’ve just got to put it together.”

Cimarron-Memorial certainly put together an impressive first half.

The Spartans controlled the ball for most of the opening 40 minutes and took a 1-0 lead on an impressive goal from Dresdan Quackenbush, who wrestled the ball away from two Centennial defenders and fired a line drive inside the far post from a near-impossible angle.

The Bulldogs, however, ended most of Cimarron-Memorial’s scoring chances before they started and George credited his defense’s performance.

“In the back and also in the midfield, it was a great job of them,” George said. “Very solid, very organized in the back. They only had one or two really threatening opportunities.”

Centennial found its groove on offense early in the second half and scored the equalizer about 16 minutes into the second half when Ahmed Green weaved his way through some traffic and bashed the game-tying goal into the back of the net from close range.

“It was a good effort in coming back,” George said. “After the goal, it was pretty much an even game.”

That it was.

Cimarron-Memorial and Centennial traded lengthy possessions for the rest of the half, but neither team drummed up any substantial offensive opportunities.

“We’re working hard; they’re working hard; 1-1 is probably a fair result but we definitely wanted to leave here with a win,” Bailey said.

Bailey stressed the importance of Monday’s game against Palo Verde.

“We’ve got to win on Monday,” Bailey said. “We’ve got to take care of our business against Palo Verde. We’re on track to make the playoffs, but that No. 1 seed would be nice.”

George expressed a similar sentiment.

“There’s three top teams going for one spot,” he said. “We’re going to ask (our guys) to play as well as they can, play mistake free. If we can do that, then we”ll be fine.”