DIVISION IV BOYS’ SOCCER : Santa Margarita Fails to Get Past Riverside Poly

Santa Margarita, the defending

Southern Section champion, failed to capitalize on the shaky first-half play of top-seeded Riverside Poly , and lost, 1-0, in the Southern Section Division IV boys’ soccer semifinals Tuesday at Santa Margarita High.

Riverside Poly (27-0-1) started slow in the first half, with the Eagles outshooting the Bears, 9-5.

“I think we were nervous,” Poly Coach Tom Wilson said. “We just kept knocking the ball out and our forwards were exhausted.”

Santa Margarita (16-5-5) had four open-shot opportunities in the first half but couldn’t score.

Senior defenseman Jeff Maguire was outstanding on both ends, keeping Poly’s forwards in check and taking three shots of his own, one of which bounced off the post with five minutes left in the half.

“We were unlucky,” Eagle Coach Curt Bauer said. “We needed to get a couple in, in the first half when we had the chance.”

In the second half, Santa Margarita’s chances were few. Poly took two quick shots in the first two minutes and kept Santa Margarita goalkeeper Mike Greco on his toes.

Poly’s Julio Luna and Israel Baltazar controlled the ball for most of the second half, but Marc Dunbar finally put it into the net. With 26 minutes left, Danny Mann passed the ball to Dunbar in front of the goal and Dunbar drilled a shot just beyond Greco’s reach.

“They did exactly what we expected,” Bauer said. “They faked a cross pass and beat us across the line.”

With five minutes left, Santa Margarita, led by junior Seth George, put the pressure on with five scoring opportunities, all on free kicks and throw-ins. But the Bears defense held.