SUNSET LEAGUE BOYS’ SOCCER : Santa Ana Proves Early Slump Is Over With Shutout of Edison

It took Santa Ana nearly the entire boys’ soccer season to do it, but the Saints are finally starting to live up to their preseason billing.

With their 2-0 victory Wednesday over host Edison, the fifth-ranked Saints have clinched at least a share of the Sunset League title. Suddenly, they have an outside shot to be the top-seeded team in the Southern Section Division I playoffs.

A victory or tie Friday against Fountain Valley will give Santa Ana the league title outright over Marina, which is 10-2-1 in league.

“We slumped in the preseason, but I’d like to think we’re peaking now, if you can ever be peaking in soccer,” Santa Ana Coach Bob Pacieznik said. “We’re just on a roll and I hope we can keep it going heading into CIF.”

The Saints (14-4-2, 11-1-1) were ranked second in the preseason Orange County poll, but after two early losses they fell out of the top 10.

Now, Santa Ana appears to headed back to the top with a bullet. It outshot Edison (16-5, 8-5), a team that appears to heading in the opposite direction, 17-5, and scored once in each half.

Francisco Lagunas scored with four minutes left in the first half on a rebound of a Gerardo Velazquez shot. Santa Ana scored again on Velazquez’s goal off an assist by Candido Lopez. Edison’s only legitimate scoring chance came halfway through the second half when Jay Anderson’s shot flew narrowly over the crossbar.

“Edison was under a lot of pressure,” Pacieznik said. “They have to win to get in the playoffs.”

However, Pacieznik realizes the pressure on his team will begin to increase in the next week.

“We’ve been to the semifinals and lost the last two years,” he said. “If I don’t get past the semis this year, I think they’re going to fire me. My brother keeps telling me he’s going to start calling me Marty Schottenheimer (after the Kansas City Chiefs’ coach) if I don’t make it past the semifinals this year.”

In other league games:

Fountain Valley 1, Ocean View 1--J.P. D’Brot scored in the second half to give Ocean View (4-15-3, 1-10-2) the tie with host Fountain Valley (5-9-6, 3-5-4).

Westminster 3, Huntington Beach 2--Westminster rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, despite being forced to play one man short for 70 minutes after Ismel Varela was given a red card for an intentional hand-ball.

Wayne Huelskamp scored his second goal with three minutes remaining to give Westminster (7-13, 4-9) its first lead.

Demetrio Ordaz scored twice for Huntington Beach (3-9-1 in league).