SOCCER PLAYOFFS : Roosevelt Escapes With a Win by Forfeit Over Van Nuys
Roosevelt High benefited from an ill-timed punch and its stormy aftermath to take a 1-0 victory by forfeit over Van Nuys at Van Nuys on Friday afternoon.
After forward Carlos Gariya put Van Nuys ahead 4-1 on a penalty kick with less than five minutes remaining in the game, a Van Nuys player punched Roosevelt defender Jesus Perez, according to Roosevelt Coach Miguel Roura. The referee handed the player a red card, the third for a Van Nuys player in the game. A red card carries an automatic suspension from the next game.
Van Nuys coach Gustavo Correa then charged after the referee, Roura said, and bumped into him. Contact with a referee brings an automatic red card, which in turns mean automatic ejection for a coach. Rules say a game ends immediately and results in a forfeit once a coach is ejected.
Several Van Nuys fans then left their seats and stormed after the referee. Van Nuys school officials helped break up the crowd and prevent any harm.
“It was scary,” said Roura, who said he didn’t know why his player was punched.
The victory means Roosevelt advances to the second round against Franklin.
“We were very lucky,” said Roura. “Van Nuys has a great team. It’s very unfortunate the game ended this way. They beat us on the field,” said Roura.
One Roosevelt player also was red carded.
Manual Arts 1, Narbonne 0: Benny Hernandez bounced a rebound off the Gauchos goalkeeper to put the Toilers into a second-round match Wednesday against Dorsey.
Belmont 4, Monroe 0: Eric Hernandez scored all four goals as top seed Belmont beat out manned Monroe at Belmont. Belmont plays Hamilton on Wednesday.
Jefferson 1, San Pedro 0: Pablo Saenz broke a scoreless tie for Jefferson in the 70th minute with a penalty shot, but the game wasn’t decided until three minutes later when San Pedro’s final shot on a goal, a penalty kick, hit the crossbar. Jefferson plays Banning on Wednesday.
Fremont 2, Cleveland 1 (OT): Cleveland scored first and held the lead at the half, but Pablo Gonzalez tied the score in the 60th minute and Guillermo Ayala nailed the game-winner three minutes into the overtime. The Pathfinders play Chatsworth in the second round.
In other games: Banning scored five minutes into overtime to defeat Bell, 1-0 . . . Garfield breezed to a 3-0 victory over Carson on goals by three players . . . Lincoln led 1-0 for most of the game, but Hamilton scored once in regulation and again in the second overtime for the victory . . . Franklin defeated Los Angeles, 3-1.
