Crescenta Valley boys’ soccer’s season washed away

LA CRESCENTA — Gusty winds and heavy rain aren’t the most conducive weather conditions to play under in a soccer match.

Those were the elements that the Crescenta Valley High and Camarillo boys’ soccer teams were dealt Friday in a CIF Southern Section Division III first-round contest.

The monsoon-like conditions left puddles across the field turf at Crescenta Valley.

The conditions also had a severe effect on Crescenta Valley, which saw its season wrap up with a 2-0 defeat.

“We are a very possession-led team,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Grant Clark, whose team finished second in the Pacific League. “We like to have possession of the ball and try to break down the other team’s defense and we really couldn’t do that today.

“Rain in soccer is the great equalizer. Camarillo played very well and they converted on their chances in the second half. These are just unusual circumstances. We worked hard to get a home game and then the weather isn’t with you.”

Camarillo (10-6-2) received goals from Brandon Duran and Jacob Cuccia and then turned to its defense to stifle Crescenta Valley (18-4-4) as the rain and wind became more fierce in the waning moments.

Duran intercepted a pass and lined a shot past goalkeeper Makan Afzali in the 58th minute. The Scorpions sealed the win on a goal by Cuccia in the 64th minute. Cuccia lined a shot just inside the left post by Afzali, who replaced starter Luis Flores in the 43rd minute after Flores suffered an injury after colliding with a Camarillo player inside the box while going for the ball.

“We had a mental lapse and they capitalized on our mistake,” said Clark, who led Crescenta Valley to CIF championship in 2012. “It’s just an unfortunate situation.”

The Scorpions, who tied for second with Moorpark in the Coastal Canyon League and will meet West Torrance or Bishop Amat in a second-round match Wednesday, limited the Falcons to one shot on goal in the second half. It proved to be quite a contrast for the Falcons, who spent most of the first half in Camarillo territory and generated a couple of quality scoring opportunities.

Crescenta Valley had two quality chances early in the first half.

Zander Bakunowski took a 20-yard shot that went wide of the right post in the fourth minute. About 10 minutes later, Ayden Blackwood directed a shot wide of the left post.

The Falcons finished with four shots on goal in the first half and five overall. They also had seven corner kicks.

The Scorpions controlled play throughout most of the second half to hold the Falcons at bay.

“You play a certain way the whole season and you have a lot of success and then you come across these kind of conditions,” Falcons senior forward Henry Barkhordarian said. “It’s definitely tough.

“I still thought we had a great season and we continued to make a lot of progress.”

Crescenta Valley finished 5-0-3 in its last eight regular season matches, all in league.

“We made a lot of strides throughout the season,” Clark said. “It’s just tough to lose under these types of conditions.”