Arroyo Grande boys soccer advances in CIF Southern Section playoffs on golden goal

The Arroyo Grande boys soccer team scored two goals in four minutes in a come-from-behind 4-3 playoff win against Littlerock on Wednesday in Arroyo Grande.

Arroyo Grande’s Joseph Goryance scored the equalizer in stoppage time of regulation to even the score at 3-3 and send the game to overtime.

Two minutes into overtime, a pass from Arroyo Grande’s Matthew Bautisa set up Daniel Romero for a point blank shot with his left foot. The shot ricocheted off the post, and when the Littlerock defender tried to clear the ball, it hit off the back of the keeper’s head and into the net for a golden goal.

Before Goryance tied it up, Littlerock scored on a penalty kick after a controversial call on the edge of the box with three minutes to play in regulation.

“(After they scored) I was thinking that the game was over. Then, Joseph had an amazing play,” Romero said.

Goryance, who was moved from defense to offense in the second half, poked the ball past the keeper before he was flipped head over heels.

“We started off kind of slow, but it just came down to hustle at the end,” Goryance said.

The move was necessary because two of Arroyo Grande’s best players — midfielder Matthew Bautista and his twin brother, Michael — were benched during regulation time for missing practice.

When Arroyo Grande head coach Eliseo Romero inserted them in overtime, the impact was immediate.

“I made the decision to put them in because I thought they had paid their punishment,” Eliseo said. “I’m in it for the long haul. I’m in it for the program, and these guys have to catch a clue early.”

“They are such good players,” Daniel Romero said of the Bautista brothers. “It brought our energy up so much when they came in.”

Romero also scored with 33 minutes left in the second half on a free kick to tie the game at 2-2.

The Eagles first goal came on a Luis Damian penalty kick.

“It wasn’t pretty soccer, but I thought we fought better than we had all season,” Eliseo said.

Arroyo Grande will need its prettiest soccer during the next round. The Eagles will travel to play Pacific Coast League champion Corona del Mar in the first round of the Division 3 playoffs on Friday at 3 p.m.

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Arroyo Grande boys soccer advances in CIF Southern Section playoffs on golden goal."