Santa Ana, CA — The second day of the Winter Showcase at Mater Dei saw Foothill take on Pacifica (Oxnard) at 4pm and Mater Dei face Santa Barbara at 6pm. Yesterday, Foothill beat Santa Barbara by a score of 3-2 and Mater Dei dispatched Pacifica (Oxnard) 7-1. Santa Barbara and Pacifica (Oxnard) were the #1 and #2 teams in Santa Barbara county coming into the event. Foothill started the game flat with Pacifica doing very well to possess the ball in their own half and slowly breaking the lethargic Knights down. The Knights were slow to press and react, perhaps sluggish from yesterday's match. The Tritons were clearly looking to avenge the disappointing result against Mater Dei and worked the ball around the heavy legged Knights. After about 5-6 minutes of poor play by Foothill, the Knights began to wake up with the attacking pressure initiated by Tyler Valdez, Matthew Mendoza, and Mitch Sampson in the midfield. The Knights' rally was stalled in the 18th minute as a high bouncing ball was played into the Pacifica forward and the defense misjudged the ball. The ball was flicked on into a 50/50 situation with the keeper and striker going for the ball inside the 18 yard box. Both players made a play on the ball, both players touched it, and bodies collided. Somehow the Knight's keeper, Josh Picker was shown a yellow card as the referee pointed to the mark, indicating a penalty kick would be awarded to the Tritons. Not only was this a situation that is typically judged slightly in favor of protecting the keeper, but the yellow card to Picker, who made a play on the ball prior to any contact, meant that he would have to come off the field for a play. Karlo Martinez put the gloves on, stepped in, and guessed correctly but just couldn't cover enough ground as the penalty was well taken and hit bottom left side netting. The Knights were unjustly down 0-1 18 minutes into the match. The Knights, while frustrated, did not give up or put their heads down and answered 5 minutes later in the 23rd minute. The play came through the middle of the field and started with Mitch Sampson. He passed to Tyler Valdez who found Lucas Regan who then hit Matthew Mendoza with some space and he beat his man. Matty then slotted it past the keeper in the bottom left corner from 30 yards out to bring the Knights level 1-1. Foothill continued to press and finished the first half strong but with no additional goals to show for it. Foothill came out of the break ready to play and controlled the ball and tempo of play. There were moments of uncertainty as some of Foothill's players were playing out of position and filling in for injured or missing players but overall, the Knights were the stronger team. Foothill's pressure paid off in the 49th minute when relentless attacks, as well as poor clearances by the Tritons, resulted in a called hand ball inside the box. Kevin Ambrocio stepped up to the mark and scored, which gave the Knights a 2-1 lead. Foothill looked largely in charge of the match until the 66th minute when Pacifica swung the ball out wide and the Foothill defense were slow to press. To the Tritons credit, they capitalized on the Knights' delay in pressure and found an open man on the edge of the 18. He salvaged a bad touch with a great finish to beat the keeper and equalize 2-2. Pacifica showed renewed energy but did not look like they could outmatch Foothill's hold on the game - the Knights still had more of the dangerous possession and chances in their respective attacking half. Frustrated by petulant fouling combined with their inability to break down Pacifica's defense, the Knights abandoned their previous strategy of possession and tried kickball. Being that kickball is an entirely different sport, it worked out very poorly with the ball constantly being returned back to the Triton attackers and no reprieve given to the Knights defenders. This took its toll as the Knights gave away a silly foul outside the box. Pacifica scored on a combination of a good finish and a poorly organized defense of the set piece by the Knights to go up 2-3 with only 9 minutes remaining in the match. It appeared as though the Knights had let the game slip through their fingers. However, no one told the Knights. Mitch Sampson intercepted the ball at midfield and in a 1 and 2 touch passing combination, played Trent Samaha at left back, who then found Tyler Valdez hovering centrally outside the 18. Valdez picked out Jacob Garcia running at goal and with enough pace that Jacob was able to 1 touch the ball to Garrett Zehner who was running on. Garrett collected it and calmly placed it in the bottom left corner to bring the Knights level at 3-3 in the 76th minute. If the Knights were nervous, it did not show as they made their way back to the half for kick off. Their lack of expediency made it seem like they were willing to accept the draw and given the yoyo of a match, I think most people would have been happy to walk away with a draw. However, again, no one told the Knights. As soon as the whistle blew, Foothill was at it again badgering the Tritons repeatedly for the remainder of the match. The Knights' efforts were rewarded in the 79th minute when Zehner returned the favor when he found Jacob Garcia 25 yards out who cut back, beat his man, and buried a world class finish with his left foot in the left side netting from the top of the D. There was nothing the keeper could do but watch as the Knights had stolen the game back. Foothill had goals by 4 different players and assists by 4 different players - the Knights are extremely dangerous when they work together as a unit. This team has improved through the preseason in spite of injuries and continue to fight together for their common goal. The Knights enter Century Conference and Crestview League play with an 8-3-4 record and a growing glimpse of who they could be if they continue to work hard and believe.