Yakima Press Release -
www.yakimareds.comSaturday, May 10YAKIMA, WA - Junior Garcia’s return to the home field at Marquette Stadium turned out to be all the Yakima Reds fans were hoping for. After Junior suffered a season-ending injury last June, the Yakima Reds offense suffered as well. Friday night, Junior stepped back onto the home field, and the result was a goal off a Penalty Kick to tie the game against the Cascade Surge from Salem, Oregon.
Garcia calmly nailed a penalty kick in stoppage time, rallying Yakima into a 1-1 tie with the Cascade Surge.
"Junior stepped up and really had some confidence," Reds coach Hector Vega said. "He didn’t look nervous at all; he was very calm."
Garcia admitted that his calmness was only apparent on the outside, but indeed he was a little nervous stepping up with so much riding on the shot.
“There is extreme pressure -- especially when you’re losing," said the former Sunnyside High standout. "I didn’t want to miss it."
Missing it was not an option for Junior. Junior blasted it into the left side of the net as Cascade goalie David Eguren dove to the right.
“It was a beautiful penalty kick," said coach Vega.
Garcia said the key was being prepared before moving forward.
"I thought about what I was going to do," he said. "I don’t want to change my mind as I’m approaching the ball. Sometimes when you do that, you hit a really bad shot."
This one was struck perfectly and came just moments before the game ended, helping Yakima improve to 1-0-1 this season.
"You always want to win, but to go from losing to getting a tie feels good," Garcia said.
"We were a little flat tonight," Coach Vega said. "I don’t think we were prepared to play, but they did what was necessary to get a tie."
Despite being flat, Yakima still managed to control the match, and had the better scoring chances, although there weren’t many for either side.
When Cascade finally broke through, it really wasn’t the result of good teamwork, but rather good fortune.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime shot," said Vega.
The Surge’s Tim Star gained control of the ball about 35 yards out on the left side and lofted a shot towards the Reds goal. Goalkeeper Robert McCurdy backpedaled and appeared to have a play on the ball. Robert got a hand on the ball, but it just wasn’t there, and it dropped just under the crossbar in the 73rd minute.
"It was a fluke, but it was also a good goal," Vega said. "That’s the way soccer is. You don’t always win when you have the best opportunities."
The Reds, thanks to Junior Garcia, ended their home opener with a tie.
