Less than a month ago, the Manteca Buffaloes went to Dino Cunial Stadium and picked up a massive 3-0 Valley Oak League win over rival East Union.
Safe to say the Lancers remembered the loss well, as they visited Manteca’s Guss Schmiedt Field on Wednesday night and put on a gritty performance in a 0-0 draw between two teams fighting for playoff seeding in their respective divisions.
“I thought we came out and played hard,” East Union head coach Jason Silva said. “They are a really good team that gave it to us a few weeks back, and it was good to come out here and compete and keep ourselves in a good spot playoff wise.”
Manteca (5-1-4, 16-4-4) came into the match against East Union (3-5-1, 10-11-2) riding a three match unbeaten streak that saw them score 11 goals while allowing just two.
“We’re pretty beat up — I think both teams are,” Buffaloes head coach Justin Coenenberg said. “I thought we came out with the right intensity, controlled a lot of the ball, but ultimately, just could not find that final touch when we needed it to go ahead.”
Manteca controlled possession in the East Union end for most of the first half. The first real chance came 12 minutes into the match when great combination play led to Makayla Spencer finding Jaylah Benton in space down the right side. Benton’s cross into the box went directly to junior forward Layla Flannigan, who got a piece of it sending it towards the goal, but not enough to beat East Union keeper sophomore Kadence Rossi, who made what would end up being the play of the game to keep the Buffaloes off of the scoreboard early.
“Kadence has been great for us all season,” Silva said. “She played hurt tonight but was still able to keep us in the match, making plays when she was asked to.”
Rossi’s counterpart on the Manteca side, junior goalkeeper Tina Macomber, was largely untested in the first half. She made her first save on a strike from outside the box from Addyson Soulier, the first of three Macomber would be asked to make on the night.
Macomber was kept unscathed thanks to consistently strong defensive play from the Buffaloes back line led by senior Brooklyn Cornish. Manteca has allowed a league-low 17 goals in 24 matches. Tuesday’s shutout was the 11th of the season for the Buffaloes.
“We’re always going to come to play defensively,” Coenenberg said. “We did a really good job limiting their chances to a few long range shots to get the shutout, which is something I know our girls take a lot of pride in.”
Manteca’s best chance of the second half came after Kailee Jackson, who was able to find space for much of the night, found Benton streaking towards goal on the right side. Benton fired a shot from just inside the box just wide of the net and the waiting Rossi.
The teams traded possession for the majority of the second half, probing one another but creating very few goal scoring opportunities. With the clock stopped and less than two minutes to play, Soulier stood over a free kick from outside the box. Her shot was strong and on target but directly into the hands of Macomber. The draw was sealed just a few seconds later, as the whistle blew signally full time.
Both teams will have just a few days to think about getting back on the scoreboard. Manteca will host Central Catholic Friday night on senior night, while East Union will travel to first-place Oakdale with an opportunity to pick up valuable points for playoff seeding.
