Poly Persuades Kennedy in Soccer Playoffs, 3-0

Although City officials termed it an exhibition, Poly High viewed Friday night’s third-place soccer playoff match against Kennedy as a chance for redemption.

“Kennedy was always the team to beat when we were in the Mid-Valley League so it was easy to get up for tonight,” senior midfielder Angel Marron said. “We wanted to let them know that the East Valley League has some good teams, too.”

Kennedy needs no convincing after Poly’s 3-0 victory at Westchester High on Friday night.

Polytechnic (14-2-2), which won the East Valley League title after playing in the Mid-Valley League for several seasons, took a 1-0 lead late in the first half after a breakdown in the Kennedy defense.

After receiving a clearing pass from midfield, junior Jesus Perez found himself in a situation that forwards dream about--one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper. As Kennedy’s onrushing Zoltan Kallos tried to block the shot, Perez calmly lofted the ball over him into the net.

Edwin Torres gave Poly a 2-0 lead five minutes later when he blasted a drive past Kallos from 20 yards away.

Kennedy (9-3-6) never recovered from that goal as the Parrots controlled the tempo of the match throughout the second half. Carlos Veloz’s team-leading 19th goal closed out the scoring with 15 minutes left.

Poly Coach Fred Sandoval said afterward that his players had come back strongly after last Thursday’s 3-1 overtime loss to San Pedro in the semifinals.

“Everyone was fired up and ready to play tonight,” Sandoval said. “Nobody made any mistakes, everyone did their jobs. I’m especially happy for our seniors. This game meant a lot to them because they had to take a back seat to Kennedy in the past.”

Marron agreed. “It feels good to finally beat Kennedy. The last time we played, they shut us out.”