Scoring barrage stakes La Cañada boys’ soccer’s quarterfinal berth
CLAREMONT — For 49 minutes, the La Cañada High boys’ soccer team appeared baffled and bothered.
The visiting No. 8-ranked Spartans racked up three yellow cards and only mustered as many shots versus host No. 9 Webb.
Throughout his team’s struggles, La Cañada Coach Bruno Costa preached poise and patience.
The Spartans got the message and broke through in a big way, scoring three goals within a nine-minute span, the first coming in the 50th minute, and romping to a 4-0 victory in Wednesday’s second round of the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs.
With the win, Rio Hondo League champion La Cañada (12-4-6) earned advancement to the quarterfinal round for a third straight year and will host top-seeded La Puente Nogales (16-3-4) or Desert Hot Springs (12-10-3) on Saturday at a time to be determined.
“We didn’t give up on our game plan even when we weren’t playing well,” Costa said. “We saw Webb’s schedule and we knew they hadn’t played someone as competitive as us. It was just a matter of patience and staying with the ball and pace. Once we got that first goal, I knew the match would open up.”
La Cañada’s Jack Meeker helped break a scoreless stalemate when he stole possession about 30 yards from Webb’s goal and led an attack that saw him feed junior Armand Manoukian inside the box. Manoukian attempted to send the ball right back to Meeker, but his pass deflected off the back of a diving Gauls defender and scored in the 50th minute to put the Spartans ahead, 1-0.
“[Webb] was pushing really hard for the whole game and then they seemed to gas out and then we seemed to find space,” Meeker said. “Once we had space, we started to break them down. Once they got tired, we knew we’d score.”
Two minutes later, a through ball from Will Chant was buried from 12 yards by sophomore Jake Tolkin and the Spartans suddenly led, 2-0.
The onslaught continued in the 59th minute when Meeker scored from 10 yards off an assist from Tolkin as La Cañada roared ahead, 3-0.
The Spartans’ final score took place in the 66th minute when a cross from Manoukian was chipped in from five yards by freshman halfback Arian Shapourifar.
Overall, it was a stunning turn of events for the Spartans, who finished with 11 shots, eight on goal, in the second half. La Cañada had attempted only three shots in the first half, with only one being on frame.
La Cañada goalie Ryan Crispi finished with seven saves to preserve the shutout versus Webb (17-2-3), the Joaquin League champion.
“I guess it was a matter of just feeling out these guys,” Manoukian said. “We do try in the first half of games, but once we understood Webb better, we knew that once we’d score a goal, that they’d crumble.”
