SACRAMENTO – It took 120 minutes of soccer but in the end, No. 10-seeded Cañada College came away with a 2-1 upset victory at No. 7 Cosumnes River College in an opening-round game of the Northern California Regional Playoffs on Saturday.
Francesco Giusti scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 113th minute. He was able to put back a deflected shot after a Cañada free kick.
But the Colts' defense and goalkeeper Kosuke Kaneko held off a late surge by Cosumnes River to pull off the win. Kaneko came up with a big save the 114th minute while another CRC shot in the 119th minute struck the post. He ended the contest with 3 saves.
Diego Ruiz gave Cañada an early 1-0 lead after scoring in the 32nd minute on a free kick outside of the box. The Colts held that lead at halftime and into the second until the Hawks tied it up in the 57th minute.
The Colts now, 11-7-3 overall, advance to Round 2 and will hit the road once again to take on No. 2 Santa Rosa Junior College on Tuesday (Nov. 21). Santa Rosa was a 5-0 winner over No. 15 Woodland Community College on Saturday in its playoff opener.
Tuesday will mark the second meeting of the season between Cañada and Santa Rosa. In Redwood City on Sept. 12, the Bear Cubs came away with a 4-2 win over the Colts.
Two more wins are needed by the Colts to advance to the 3C2A State Championships on Dec. 1 & 3 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.
