Boys’ Roundup : Sunny Hills’ Defense Seals 1-0 Win at Orange

Sunny Hills High School used a tough defense--and a freshman goalie--to fight off several Orange rallies to advance to the Southern Section 2-A final with a 1-0 victory Tuesday at Orange.

Right wing Abid Chaudry scored with three minutes left in the first half to help send the Lancers (19-2) into Saturday’s 6 p.m. final against defending co-champion Brea-Olinda at Gahr High in Cerritos.

With the ball loose in front of the goal, Chaudry scored on a shot that just crossed the plane of the goal before Orange defenders cleared it out of bounds. The Lancers’ defense--and goalkeeper Jason Sugarman--did the rest.

Sugarman, who made six saves, managed the Lancer defense effectively during several close calls in the early part of the game and in the closing minutes. The Panthers (21-8-2) dominated the game early but could not penetrate the Sunny Hills defense for a good shot.

“I thought it was a fantastic first 20 minutes,” said Bryan Jennings, Sunny Hills coach. “They kept attacking and we kept fighting them off.

“We didn’t play Orange off the field, but we were effective. They threw everything they had at us, and we soaked them up like a sponge.”

Twice in the closing minutes the Panthers had goals called back. The first goal, by forward David Shill, was called back because Orange was offsides. Sunny Hills’ intricate defense forced the Panthers into several offsides infractions late in the game.

“In the second half we got frustrated by that offsides trap,” said John Garcia, Orange coach. “In the first half we penetrated through that three times but didn’t finish the job.”

The second goal called back came when forward James Vlcek, who was wide open, brushed his hand on an open shot with about three minutes remaining.

“He could have just dove in with the ball and it would have been a goal,” Garcia said. “Believe me, we had our chances. We had 11 shots on goal and they had four. We just didn’t finish the job.”

All but one Orange starter was a senior, most of whom had played together for three years.

“This was our year, no question,” Garcia said.

In another 2-A semifinal:

Brea-Olinda 3, Coachella Valley 1--Mike Oziminski scored two goals and had an assist as the Wildcats won easily at home, returning to the final to defend their 1986 championship they shared with Central. Tony Catalano scored the other Brea goal, sustaining a broken nose in a collision with the goalie on the play. Brea (17-4-2) outshot the Arabs, 20-7. Alfredo Preciado scored for Coachella Valley (22-5-0).

In the 3-A semifinals:

Esperanza 1, Bosco Tech 0--Sean Coppage scored on a running 30-yard volley off a header by Rick Buschini with 10 minutes remaining in first half. Aztec goalkeeper Joe Shuck had seven saves as defending 3-A champion Esperanza recorded its 20th shutout of the season and its eighth consecutive playoff shutout over two years. Gabriel Gonzalez had 17 saves for Bosco Tech (20-5-1). Esperanza plays Diamond Bar in the 3-A final at 8 p.m. Saturday.

In the 4-A semifinals:

Mater Dei 1, South Torrance 0 (Mater Dei advances on penalty kicks, 7-6)--Goalkeeper Mike Reis made the winning save for the Monarchs (24-2-1) at South Torrance when the match went to penalty kicks after a scoreless tie through two 10-minute overtimes. Reis had eight saves for his 11th shutout. Goalie Kevin Hand had 11 saves for South Torrance (23-8). Mater Dei plays West Torrance (22-5-0) for the 4-A title at 8 p.m. Friday at Gahr High School.