Rockville breaches B-CC dam

Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005

Thursday night at Good Stadium, host Rockville did what no boys soccer team had done in 2005: score against Bethesda-Chevy Chase. The Rams came back later and did the previously seemingly impossible again. And again ... and again.

By the end of the second half, Rockville had rung up four goals — juniors Eduardo Flores and Alex Goycochea each with a pair — for the 4-1 win over formerly unbeaten and unscored-upon B-CC. The win also gave Rockville (8-1) sole possession of first place atop the county’s 3A⁄2A⁄1A Division, with its 4-0 mark in league play, and ran the Rams’ winning streak up to six.

In addition to two goals, Flores and Goycochea doubled up on celebratory ejections, red cards. It was that kind of night.

‘‘It’s a game in which you leave it all on the field,” Flores said. ‘‘It’s always been a great game between us and [B-CC].”

B-CC (5-1 overall, 3-1 in the division) had shut out its opposition for nearly a month (five games since Sept. 7) until the second half in Rockville. The Barons led, 1-0, after senior Ever Lemus scored in the 10th minute.

Once the second half started, Flores knotted the score immediately. Rockville had managed just three runs onto the net and one close shot (by Flores) in the first 40 minutes. Sixty seconds after halftime, Flores gathered a pass out of the midfield and let loose another bid. This time, he found the back of the net.

Rockville coach Abdel Makhlouf said B-CC’s reputation opened a psychological front.

‘‘I said, ‘Let us first score a goal, and then we’ll see how they react,’” he said. ‘‘I didn’t care about the results, I just said, ‘Just keep possession of the ball. The team who controls possession wins.’”

In stark contrast to the first half, the Rockville forward line persistently pressured B-CC goalie Will Hanlon. It was as though Flores forced ‘‘the flood gates open,” as B-CC coach Doug Davies put it.

With the game tied at 1-1 midway through the second half, Goycochea unleashed an elevated shot on goal. Hanlon jumped to deflect it with an outstretched arm, and it clanged off the crossbar. Goycochea picked up the rebound and fed Flores for his second goal (his eighth of the season) and a 2-1 Rockville lead in the 62nd minute.

However, officials busted Flores with a red card when the junior forward tore off his jersey in celebration. In addition to leaving the field early, he is ineligible for Rockville’s next game against Wheaton on Wednesday. Makhlouf screamed at the officials for five minutes, and then the Rams played the last 20 minutes with 10 men.

‘‘I didn’t know it was a straight red card if you take your shirt off,” Flores said. ‘‘I thought it was just a yellow card. I couldn’t do anything about it. I guess it’s a new rule. I’ve got to stick with it.”

By game’s end, Rockville found itself two down but three up. Goycochea beat Hanlon in the 75th minute, but Makhlouf said the 3-1 lead with over five minutes left still wasn’t enough. In the final minute, Goycochea launched a scoring volley from 25 yards out, giving Rockville the 4-1 margin.

‘‘Two years ago, it was 3-1. We went to overtime, and they beat us,” Makhlouf said. ‘‘When [Goycochea] scored the [last] goal, I said, ‘I’m comfortable. This is the year.’”

Referees issued Goycochea a yellow card for running along by the stands after his second goal. It was his second yellow card, which is an automatic red. But since it was a ‘‘soft red” instead of a straight red, Goycochea, the team’s leading scorer with 11 goals, can still play against Wheaton.

B-CC will be at Paint Branch (3-4-0 overall, 0-3-0 in the 3A⁄2A⁄1A) Wednesday night. The Barons will return to play after giving up their first four goals of the year in one 40-minute span. That followed nearly 440 minutes of shutout defense.

‘‘We weren’t getting to spaces,” Davies said. ‘‘We weren’t showing off the ball. We just seemed a little bit flat. For whatever reason [they] needed a little wake-up call, and they got it.”