CPHS Soccer: Fernando Saldana scores four, Sandites slam Shawnee 4-1

Sophomore standout Fernando Saldana scored a career-high three goals and one penalty kick Tuesday night, leading the Charles Page High School soccer team (10-1, 3-1) to a 4-1 victory against Shawnee (8-4, 0-4).

Saldana recorded his first hat trick of the season with a penalty kick four minutes into the second half, and scored his third goal in the the 52nd minute. He had to sit out the prior game after earning three yellow cards in nine matches, and the scoring he missed out on against Norman clearly rolled over.

Shawnee started hot but quickly ran out of momentum. Kossi Kodoe had a shot on goal less than a minute in that spat off the post, and Ethan Tippit saved the corresponding corner kick. Kodoe wouldn’t be stymied for long, however, and netted the Wolves’ first and only goal in the 12th minute of regulation.

Jack Bratcher was aggressive early on, nearly scoring a header on a corner kick that barely cleared the top of the goal. He sent a pair of shots a hair wide in the 7th and 15th minutes.

Gustavo Saldana had a shot saved in the 21st minute, Gustavo Franco sent one wide in the 24th, and Luke Jeffus bounced one off the post in the 26th before the team finally hit pay dirt. With twelve minutes left in the half, Bratcher had one rejected off the post but Fernando Saldana sent it back on a diving header to tie the match.

Franco, Bratcher, and Fernando Saldana continued to bring the heat in the final moments of the first half. Saldana had a shot hit the top of the post, deflect into the ground inside the goal, then spit back out, and Sebastian Rodriguez saved two Bratcher attempts in the final three minutes. Finally, Saldana notched the go-ahead goal on a deflection with under a minute left.

The Sandites were the aggressors through most of the night and had eight corner kicks to Shawnee’s three. Rodriguez saved multiple shots from Jeffus and Bratcher in the second half, and Miquel Sanchez also had a shot travel a hair wide.

Sand Springs Soccer will host its final home match of the regular season Friday at 8:00 p.m. against nationally-ranked No. 12 Union (6-1, 4-0), currently the top team in the district. They also have road matches against Owasso (7-5, 3-1) and Capitol Hill (5-6, 2-2) next week before Playoff assignments are released.

District 6A-4 Standings
4-0 Union (6-1)
3-1 Owasso (7-5)
3-4 Sand Springs (11-1)
2-2 Edmond Santa Fe (5-7)
2-2 Capitol Hill (5-6)
1-3 Norman (7-3)
1-3 Sapulpa (5-7)
0-4 Shawnee (8-4)

Goals
10 Fernando Saldana
4 Jeffus
4 Bratcher
4 Gustavo Saldana
1 Munoz
1 Cox
1 Esparza
1 Franco
1 Quinton
1 Brooks

Penalty Kicks
3 Fernando Saldana
3 Fancher
2 Jeffus
2 Gustavo Saldana
1 Cox
1 Summerton

Total Scores
13 Fernando Saldana
6 Jeffus
6 Gustavo Saldana
4 Bratcher
3 Fancher
2 Cox
1 Munoz
1 Esparza
1 Franco
1 Quinton
1 Summerton
1 Brooks