SOCCER ROUNDUP : Garfield Downs South Gate, 2-1

In a battle of previously undefeated boys’ soccer teams, Garfield beat South Gate, 2-1, in a Southeastern Conference game Thursday at South Gate.

Garfield’s attack-style offense struck early in the game when Migel Gomez sneaked behind the Ram defense and pounded the ball into the corner of the net 11 minutes into the contest.

The Bulldogs continued their offensive onslaught to wrap up the first half. At the 57-minute mark, Garfield’s Francisco Corona shook off the defenders and found himself alone in front of the Ram goal, scoring easily to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.

The Rams were ineffective in the first half, unable to cross the ball down the field to muster any threat. But the Rams caught fire at the 71-minute mark when Freddie Campos executed a perfect pass to Julio Flores, who scored to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Rams continued to pound away at the Bulldogs, driving down the field several times to set up shots. But Bulldog defenseman Tony Curiel and goalie Froiland Gutierrez foiled the comeback attempt.

“We took more shots and we outplayed them,” Garfield Coach Tony Critelli said. “I credit my defense with good marking and exceptional defense.”

Garfield, the defending City Section 4-A Division champion, improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in league games. South Gate dropped to 3-1 and 0-1.

“We need to find our players open more so that we don’t get the ball taken so easily,” South Gate coach Tony Dauer said. “We need to work on crossing the ball.”

In other games Thursday:

Fremont 4, Bell 1--Hector Moreno, Hector Galdamez, Rene Lemus and Juan Carlos Sanchez each scored a goal to give Fremont a Southeastern Conference win at home.

Moreno, who scored the go-ahead goal in the first half, has eight goals and two assists in four games.

Fremont, 4-0 overall and 1-0 in league, held a 3-0 lead before left wing Miguel Morales scored for Bell (1-3, 0-1).

Jefferson 6, Locke 1--Welter Martinez and Alfredo Garcia each scored two goals as Jefferson extended its winning streak to four games in a Southeastern Conference game at home.

Cruz Martinez and Jose Vargas also scored for Jefferson (4-0, 1-0).

Roosevelt 3, Jordan 2--Captain Froilan Ortega took a crossing pass from Jesus Moreno and scored the winning goal at the 57-minute mark as Roosevelt won its Southeastern Conference opener at home.

Ortega drew the goalie to the left of the net and sent a shot to the right.

Roosevelt (3-1, 1-0) took a 2-0 lead in the first half on goals from Salvador Guerrero and Franco Perez. Jordan came back to tie the game, setting the stage for Ortega’s game-winning shot.

Belmont 1, Marshall 1--The Sentinels held a 1-0 lead until the 77th minute when Marshall tied the score on a penalty kick in a Northern Conference game at Belmont.

Sentinel forward Carlos Tejax scored off a corner kick, using his head to knock in the first goal at the 5-minute mark. Belmont is 3-0-1 overall and 0-0-1 in league.

Manual Arts 9, Fairfax 1--Selvin Pineda scored two goals and Mariano Portillo had three assists to lead Manual Arts (3-1, 1-0) to a Coastal Conference opening victory at home.

Girls’ Soccer

Garfield 7, Fremont 0--Cynthia Cornejo and Aracely Tamayo each scored two goals to lead Garfield (1-2, 1-0) to a Southeastern Conference victory at Garfield.

Bell 2, Jefferson 1--Maria Fuarez and Yvette Acosta each scored a goal to give Bell (1-2-1, 1-0) a Southeastern Conference victory.

Roundup compiled by Times sports correspondent Sean Waters.