Bolts Toppled by Revolucion in Overtime
February 20, 2012 - Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL)
Anaheim Bolts News Release
Anaheim, CA- (February 19, 2012)- The Anaheim Bolts fell to Revolucion Tijuana 12-11 in an overtime thriller at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena.
With the loss, Anaheim (6-8) is out of the playoffs and Tijuana (9-6) takes the third and final spot in the Western Division.
In a cat and mouse affair, the Bolts led Tijuana by one goal all the way to 7-6. The Bolts even managed a few two goal leads and eventually extended the scoreline to 11-9 late in the fourth quarter, but Revolucion fought back to tie the game at 11-11 with just 2:44 left.
At the 1:42 mark in overtime, Tomislav Colic gave the ball away in the defensive end. Edgar Rivas took full advantage, slaming home the winning goal to put the Mexican side into the playoffs at the expense of Anaheim.
Adriano De Lima had 4 goals and 2 assists and Hugo Casillas struck his third hat-trick in as many games as the Bolts looked to have done enough.
As has been the story of their season, however, the Bolts could not hold on to the lead. As ESPNLA's Scott French noted after the game, Anaheim has squandered leads in six of its eight losses. In four of those losses, the lead was blown in the final period of play.
"I'm absolutly gutted," head coach Bernie Lilavois lamented after the game. "The boys fought so hard but, once again, we just couldn't hold out. We still have two games against Tacoma next Sunday. We are going to come out strong and put on a good show for our fans who have been awesome all season."
Goalkeeper coach Jeff Tacket saw the lighter side of tonight's heartbreak saying, "tonight we finally saw guys doing things we had asked of them all season in terms of their movement and willingness to get behind the ball."
If the young Bolts can continue to put Lilavois' and Tackets' tactics into action, then they could very well end their inagural PASL season with two wins next weekend against the Tacoma Stars. The double header will kick off at 1:00 P.M. PST at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena with the rematch slated for 6:00 P.M. PST.
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Professional Arena Soccer League Stories from February 20, 2012
- Kings advance to US Open Finals, Cincinnati hosts Detroit on Saturday - Cincinnati Kings
- Bolts Toppled by Revolucion in Overtime - Anaheim Bolts
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