DIVISION I BOYS’ SOCCER ROUNDUP : Santa Monica Wins in Overtime After Edison Goals Disallowed

The Edison boys’ soccer season ended Thursday in a 1-0 overtime loss to Santa Monica in a Southern Section Division I quarterfinal. But it did not end without plenty of controversy and bitterness.

Santa Monica forward Saif Mansour scored the game-winning goal with three minutes left in the second 10-minute overtime period, but no one on Edison’s side wanted to talk about that goal.

“I’m thinking about the two goals the ref took away,” Edison Coach Mike DiGiovanni said. “I’m thinking about how we dominate the game and lose.”

Edison (20-6-1) outshot Santa Monica, 22-8, but the Chargers lost when referees’ whistles blew away their hopes of advancing to Tuesday’s semifinals.

The first apparent goal came in the second half when Brett Jorgenson headed in a corner kick, but it was nullified when the referee ruled that Santa Monica goalkeeper Ovidio Martinez was interfered with.

“The first one was a 50-50 call,” DiGiovanni said. “The second one, I had no idea.”

Neither did Edison’s Jay Anderson, who was called for a foul as he was heading the ball to Jorgenson, who subsequently headed the ball past Martinez.

“He said I pushed off, I guess,” Anderson said.

Said Jorgenson: “The refs just took it away from us.”

DiGiovanni said he couldn’t understand why Martinez was so heavily protected.

“Every time the keeper came out for the ball, (the referee) blew the whistle,” DiGiovanni said. “We should have won the game.”

After crawling into the playoffs as the third-place team in the Sunset League, Edison routed Redondo Beach Redondo Union, 8-1, upset top-seeded Simi Valley Royal, 1-0, and outplayed Santa Monica for most of the game.

“It’s very disappointing,” DiGiovanni said. “We took our knocks in league, in a tough league, and we were really playing well.”

The frustration of losing and the game’s physical play almost resulted in a scuffle after the game. As the two teams shook hands, several players pushed each other before the referees stepped in.

“There was a lot of trash talking out there,” DiGiovanni said. “Our guys are no saints, but they should have just taken the win and walked away. What they did afterward was classless.”

Santa Monica (14-5-1) will play Claremont in Tuesday’s semifinals.

In another Division I game:

Claremont 3, Marina 2 (OT)--The loss ended the season for Marina (17-6-1), the fourth-seeded team in the bracket.