It was a split result for the two Bay Area USL League 2 teams playing in the Western Conference Quarterfinals in Washington on Friday.
The Glens took on top seed Capital FC Athletico in Seattle for the first game of the day. San Francisco ended up on the attack from the opening whistle, and Max Chretien was able to give the visitors lead heading into the halftime break.
Early in the second half Junior Mahi scored again to double the Glens lead which they held until the 70th minute.
CFC Athletico then scored in the 71st and 77th minutes to tie the game. Athletico had a chance in the 79th minute to take the lead but Glens goalkeeper Eliot Jones made a dramatic save to keep the score level.
Four minutes later captian Max Chretien put San Francisco back into the lead to stay.
The Glens were able to kill off the remainder of the game and advance to the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday.
Project 51O come up short
Next up was the East Bay’s Project 51O facing off against Ballard FC.
The Roots development team started five players under 18 years old and one 14 year old in the game.
Ballard scored in the first half and took a two goal advantage early in the second half.
51O’s Lorenzo Hernandez scored a goal in the 78th minute for 51O to pull back within striking distance.
Unfortunately the Project was unable to get the equalizer and had to settle with claiming the regular season crown in their first full complete season as a team in the USL League 2 Southwest Division.
“We fought until the end,” tweeted 51O’s Javi Ruiz after the game. “Really proud of all the team for an incredible season. We are sorry for not getting the result we wanted. This is just the beginning for this team. The future is bright, Oakland.
Ballard advances to take on SF Glens on Sunday, July 24. The winner advances to the USL League 2 Western Conference finals on July 29.
