Mariners Men's Soccer used grit and determination to hold the visiting Napa Valley Storm to a goalless draw on Friday. College of Marin played the majority of the second half with just 10 men but were the better side and even had a few chances to bag a game winning goal. While the match was scoreless the Mariners did extend their unbeaten streak to three straight against the top team in the Bay Valley Conference.
Mariners' forward Peter Carroll battled with the Napa defense for the entirety of the first half. The physicality between both of them was brutal and unfortunately the freshman took the heat for it in the 50th minute. He was shown a straight red card and sent off for the match. Tied at 0-0 the Mariners faced the prospect of 40 shorthanded minutes.
Minutes later a Mariners' foul in the box granted Napa a potentially game changing penalty. Marin keeper Bryan Rodriguez guessed correctly and saved the attempt to keep the match scoreless.
After that crucial save Marin were the better side and generated a few chances to take the lead in the waning minutes. Daniil Menshikov unleashed a powerful shot in the 80th minute that banged off the crossbar.
Napa then committed a foul just outside the box in the 90th minute that setup a direct free kick. William Connelly's shot perfectly lofted the wall and looked destined for the back of the net, but Napa's keeper Carlos Ayala made a brilliant acrobatic save to thwart the potential game winning goal for Marin.
Rodriguez made six saves in goal for the Mariners, while Ayala recorded nine for the Storm. Emilio Flores Posada led the way with four shots for Marin.
The draw pushed the Mariners into a tie for fourth place with the Yuba College 49ers at 2-3-1. Marin is undefeated in their last three matches with a 2-0-1 record. Marin has a difficult week on the horizon with a non-conference road match at Santa Rosa on Tuesday, October 22nd before a conference showdown with the Merritt Thunderbirds in Oakland on Friday, October 25th.
