Composed La Cañada boys’ soccer opens Rio Hondo League play with shutout
LA CAÑADA — In the search for stability and consistency, La Cañada High boys’ soccer Coach Bruno Costa found what he was looking for in Wednesday afternoon’s Rio Hondo League opener.
The Spartans scored two early goals and played relaxed, mostly smart soccer in a 3-0 victory over visiting Blair.
The triumph snapped a four-match winless streak for La Cañada, while improving the Spartans record to 4-4-3.
“What I liked most from today is that we stayed calm,” Costa said. “We played with composure, we kept a good level of organization the whole time and we created quite a bit. Especially on defense, we controlled the game.”
All the statistics were in the Spartans’ favor, as La Cañada outshot Blair, 17-5, while it controlled possession for most of the contest.
The score could have very well been worse for Blair (2-3) if not for the strong play of goalie David Lopez, who finished with seven saves.
The Spartans broke through the Vikings’ defense in a 60-second flurry that seemed to begin harmlessly enough when an intended cross from Spartans junior halfback Aldo Balarezo was deflected by a Blair defender.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, the ball was headed toward the goal instead of away from it and flew past a surprised Lopez for the match’s first goal in the 15th minute.
About 30 seconds later, La Cañada added to its advantage when a pass from senior midfielder Armand Manoukian was buried for a 10-yard goal in the 16th minute by junior striker Dylan Pastor to put the home team suddenly up, 2-0.
Perhaps it was La Cañada’s quick-strike offense that best led to a relaxed state.
“Those goals kind of made it calm for us the rest of the game,” said La Cañada freshman Aaron Smernoff, who was making his varsity debut. “After that, there wasn’t really any pressure on us.”
In contrast, Blair struggled to penetrate La Cañada’s attacking third with perhaps the best scoring chance taking place in the 63rd minute. That’s when Alejandro De Leon whistled a 40-yard free kick just over the hand of Spartans goalie Ryan Crispi (two saves) and over the crossbar.
For most of the rest of the contest, La Cañada pushed into Vikings’ territory but couldn’t convert.
Lopez made a brilliant hockey-like kick save on a point-blank shot from La Cañada sophomore forward Jake Tolkin in the 75th minute.
Tolkin, however, got his revenge when he converted a 12-yard goal off an assist from sophomore Brandon Grandalski in the 76th minute.
Perhaps the only negative from Wednesday’s affair was a red card doled out in the 77th minute to La Cañada junior forward Rustin Badie, who is now out of Friday’s showdown versus league champion Monrovia.
