Soccer: Fresno Fuego yield late, settle for PDL draw
Fresno remains atop the Premier Development League’s Southwest Division but let a late lead slip away Saturday, with the visiting Fuego settling for a 2-2 draw with Burlingame FC.
Julio Castillo scored in the 89th minute, erasing a 2-1 lead that the Fuego had taken on Renato Bustamante’s 50th-minute goal.
The Dragons struck first on Ugochukwu Uche’s goal, but Fresno tied it minutes later on a penalty by German newcomer Sven Ricke.
In the second half, the Fuego increased their attack and hit paydirt when Bustamante recovered a loose ball in the box and shot it past a Dragons defender. They were goals Nos. 2 and 3 on the season for Ricke and Bustamante, respectively.
That put a four-point division lead within reach, but Castillo got the equalizer on a 20-yard blast that split multiple defenders and sailed home just out of the reach of Fuego goalie Cesar Castillo.
Pushing 10 men forward in stoppage time, the Fuego were unable to solve Dragons goalie Joshua Cohen, the reigning PDL player of the week after posting back-to-back clean sheets to start the season. One of Cohen’s shutouts, with 10 saves, came in a 1-0 win over the Fuego on May 15.
The Fuego (2-1-2) added one point to raise their total to eight after four matches. The Dragons (2-0-1) have seven.
Fresno is back home Friday for a 7:30 p.m. match with the Southern California Seahorses. It is the late game of the season’s second doubleheader with the Fresno Freeze of the Women’s Premier Soccer League. The Freeze play at 5:30 p.m.
Let’s play two
The Fresno Fuego and Fresno Freeze soccer teams will play the second doubleheader of the PDL/WPSL seasons on May 29 at Chukchansi Park.
PDL: FRESNO FUEGO vs. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SEAHORSES
- Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
- Records: Fuego 2-1-2, Seahorses 0-0-1
- Tickets: General admission $6 adults, $4 children; Phoenix Club $9
WPSL: FRESNO FREEZE vs. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR EAST BAY
- Kickoff: 5:30 p.m.
- Records: Freeze 1-0-0, East Bay 0-0-0
- Tickets: General admission $6 adults, $4 children; Phoenix Club $9
- The skinny: Fresno Freeze women’s team opens doubleheader with Fuego. First 1,000 fans inside the park can return to gates at 6 p.m. got special edition Fire and Ice supporters flag. … Freeze, which opened with 5-1 win over California Storm, play at Primero De Mayo at 5 p.m. Sunday
This story was originally published May 23, 2015 at 8:45 PM with the headline "Soccer: Fresno Fuego yield late, settle for PDL draw."