Penalty kicks propel La Cañada boys’ soccer into semifinals

LA CAÑADA — Just before his captains went out for the coin toss to determine the order of the penalty kicks for Saturday’s playoff match, La Canada High boys’ soccer Coach Bruno Costa asked his team who wanted to take the pressure-filled shots that were about to ensue.

A handful of Spartans raised their hands, taking on the responsibility of trying to defeat Nogales, the top-seeded team in the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs after the teams played scoreless soccer for 100 minutes.

Costa relied on four seniors and a junior to convert penalty kicks and each one delivered. Thanks to a miss by a Nogales freshman to start the penalty kicks and the Spartans’ conversions, La Canada advanced to the semifinals with a 0-0 (5-3) victory in the shootout.

“Penalty kicks are nothing but a mental game,” Costa said. “I wanted the ones who were willing to take the pressure.”

Captain Sam Adida, a defender, stepped up to take the first penalty kick for the Spartans (14-4-6), who will play at Maranatha or Dunn in Tuesday’s semifinals at a time to be determined. The Spartans advanced to the semifinals in 2015, as well.

Adida converted with a straight-ahead shot, putting pressure on Nogales freshman Rogelio Silva. Silva’s shot hit the crossbar, deflating a Nogales squad that lost steam after an aggressive first half.

Adida’s score was followed by goals from Jack Meeker, Luke Bonham, Armand Manoukian and Armen Eyssakhanian.

Nogales outshot La Canada, 7-2, in the first half, with its best chance at scoring coming when Jose Garcia’s header hit the crossbar in the 11th minute. But the Spartans, known for being a second-half team, didn’t give the Nobles (17-4-4) many scoring opportunities after the opening 40 minutes, outshooting Nogales, 13-3, the rest of the way.

“We’re definitely a secon- half team,” said Meeker, who scored his team’s fourth penalty kick with a shot straight ahead. “We tend to find gaps as the other team gets tired. Usually in the second half, there’s more space to find. We know there’s no one we can’t play with.”

Bonham and Manoukian scored ahead of Meeker’s goal in the shootout with shots to the right side of the net, with Manoukian’s goal sliding just underneath the goalkeeper.

“It’s a game of inches,” Costa said.

Eyssakhanian, a junior, needed to start the fifth round of penalty kicks with a goal to clinch La Canada’s victory. The midfielder sent his team to the semifinals with a shot to the left.

“Coach just told me to put it in,” Eyssakhanian said. “I just picked a spot and went to that spot. We’ve been putting the work in. We just wanted to come here and get it done and [eventually] put a [CIF championship] ring on.”