SOUTHERN SECTION SOCCER PLAYOFFS : Esperanza Takes Righetti Down a Peg in Quarterfinal, 4-0

The Esperanza High School boys’ soccer team had heard plenty about Righetti before the teams met in a Southern Section division 3-A quarterfinal Friday.

Righetti, the Northern League champion. Righetti, the team that won its first two playoff games by a combined score of 8-0. Righetti, whose goalkeeper, Rick Sartain, had 13 shutouts and had attracted the attention of college scouts.

But the Aztecs gave Righetti something to remember them by Friday. They defeated the Warriors, 4-0--the same score by which Righetti had won its first two playoff matches.

The Aztecs, the defending 3-A champions, advance to a semifinal against Bosco Tech, which defeated El Segundo, 2-1, in overtime Friday.

“It was one of our best games,” said John Coppage, Esperanza coach. “And what made it more enjoyable was that they had been tooting their own horn pretty good. . . . They were pretty confident.”

It was the 19th shutout of the season for Esperanza (22-2-1), whose goalie, Joe Shuck, made nine saves. Righetti finished at 18-3-4.

Esperanza had a much easier time against Righetti than it had in its second-round match against Mission Viejo, which the Aztecs won, 1-0.

The Aztecs scored quickly against Righetti, taking a 1-0 lead in the first 10 minutes when Rick Buschini scored on a header off a crossing pass from Brent Bish deep in the left corner.

Later in the first half, Bish scored unassisted for the first of his two goals, again working from deep in the left corner.

“What it was, was a left-footed, running chip shot,” said Coppage, trying to explain how Bish scored from an angle nearly parallel to the goal mouth.

Bish scored his second goal on a free kick in the second half, and Rick Guttierez scored the Aztecs’ final goal when he pushed in a loose ball in front of the goal after a throw-in.

It seemed as if Esperanza could have scored more than the four goals it did; the Aztecs outshot the Warriors, 19-8, and had a number of near goals.

As for Sartain, Righetti’s highly regarded goalie: “Maybe he had a bad day,” Coppage said. “But we exploited him.”

Sartain repeatedly came out of the goal, particularly to hound Bish, so after halftime, Esperanza began to use Bish as a sort of decoy.

“We had Bish come out (bringing the goalie with him) and flick the ball behind himself,” Coppage said. “That’s how Guttierez got that goal.”