St. Francis soccer takes down Crespi, 3-1

After seeing its one-goal advantage disappear early in the second half, the St. Francis High soccer team didn’t fret.

Instead, the Golden Knights recovered quickly and pulled to .500 in the Mission League

St. Francis received second-half goals from Christian Ibarra and Dulles Hanula to post a 3-1 home win against Crespi at Friedman Field.

NEWSLETTER: Stay up to date with what’s going on in the 818 >>

“It’s a huge win, no doubt about it,” St. Francis Coach Glen Appels said. “We gave up the tying goal and then I liked the way we came back and played our game.

1/8

St. Francis’ Mateo Ramirez tries for a goal past Crespi goalie Matthew Lipire during a game on Monday, January 25, 2016.   (Roger Wilson/Staff Photographer)

2/8

St. Francis’ Riley Baz heads the ball away from Crespi’s Adamo De Vito during a game on Monday, January 25, 2016.   (Roger Wilson/Staff Photographer)

3/8

St. Francis’ Liam Snashall drives the ball with Crespi’s Andrew Angarano in pursuit during a game on Monday, January 25, 2016.   (Roger Wilson/Staff Photographer)

4/8

St. Francis’ Liam Snashall and Clayton Green battle for the ball with Crespi’s Paul Van Dellen during a game on Monday, January 25, 2016.   (Roger Wilson/Staff Photographer)

5/8

St. Francis’ Scott Cross defends against Crespi’s Adamo De Vito during a game on Monday, January 25, 2016.   (Roger Wilson/Staff Photographer)

6/8

St. Francis’ Clayton Green drives the ball past Crespi defender Andrew Angarano during a game on Monday, January 25, 2016.   (Roger Wilson/Staff Photographer)

7/8

St. Francis’ Christian Ibarra drives the ball with Crespi’s Mitchell Henick in pursuit during a game on Monday, January 25, 2016.   (Roger Wilson/Staff Photographer)

8/8

St. Francis’ Clayton Green heads the ball away from Crespi’s Andrew Angarano during a game on Monday, January 25, 2016.   (Roger Wilson/Staff Photographer)

“They got the goal to tie it and they were excited. The best response is to come back right away and we did.”

St. Francis (4-7-4, 2-2-3 in league for eight points) held a 1-0 lead at halftime on a goal by Mateo Ramirez on a header off a throw-in by Riley Baz in the 28th minute.

Looking to protect its lead, St. Francis saw Crespi (6-8-1, 2-3-2 for eight points) tie it on a goal by Gabe Elizondo in the 47th minute.

Ibarra made it 2-1 in the 55th minute before Hanula closed out the scoring in the 74th minute.

St. Francis finished 1-0-1 against Crespi this season. The Golden Knights and Celts played to a scoreless tie Jan. 4 at Crespi.

St. Francis looked crisper against Crespi on Monday, launching seven shots on goal in the first half.

“We thought we played a very good first half,” Appels said. “We had some good opportunities to score, but couldn’t capitalize.

“We’re looking to do a lot better in the second half [of league]. We’ve got a lot of home games in the second half.”

Ibarra, who has to wear a face guard after recently undergoing deviated septum surgery, said the Golden Knights have a positive outlook regarding the second half of league competition.

“We want to see our level of play rise because there are no easy games in our league,” Ibarra said. “When they tied it, we felt like the game still belonged to us. We just had to keep shooting and then something would happen.”

St. Francis goalkeeper Mark Garcia finished with six saves, including four in the second half. Crespi goalkeeper Matthew Lepire collected 11 saves.

St. Francis will compete against visiting Loyola at 5 p.m. Friday. The Cubs are ranked third in CIF Southern Section Division I behind Servite and Paramount.

--

Charles Rich, charles.rich@latimes.com

Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich