Chatsworth Gets Cornered by San Fernando, 3-2

Thanks to Yair Salazar and Orlando Sanches, and a lineup of unintimidated underclassmen, San Fernando High upset Chatsworth, 3-2, Wednesday in a season and Northwest Valley Conference boys’ soccer opener.

The Tigers allowed the Chancellors to set the tempo in the first 20 minutes, but rallied to score three consecutive goals. Two of them were nearly identical, as Sanches, a ruggedly built defensive midfielder, booted corner kicks that Salazar headed into the Chatsworth goal.

Sandwiched in between those scores was Gilberto Martinez’s goal in the 55th minute to account for San Fernando’s scoring.

“It was unbelievable; we beat them in the air,” San Fernando Coach Arturo Vazquez said of his undersized team. “My kids are all 10th-graders; they can get intimidated. So I put [Sanches] in there because he plays rough and he disrupted Chatsworth.”

The Chancellors were off their game for most of the match but showed flashes of scoring power.

Chatsworth scored in the 10th minute for a 1-0 lead. Michael Preis headed a throw-in from David Mexia on to the far post, where Abdulah Safdari redirected it into the net with his forehead.

In the 77th minute, Preis scored over San Fernando goalie Javier Carrillo (four saves), heading a cross from Jorge Rodriguez out of Carrillo’s hands and into the net.

That pulled Chatsworth within 3-2, but aside from those highlights, San Fernando shut down the Chatsworth attack.

Preis, a senior striker who scored 15 goals last season, was marked tightly by the Tigers.

“They had one guy following me and another waiting in the back,” Preis said. “If I got by the first guy another was right on me.”

Despite close coverage, Preis was a threat each time he touched the ball. Whether beating a defender down the wing, placing an accurate pass or barely missing a goal on a direct kick, he pressured the Tiger defense all afternoon.

Preis got little support from his teammates, who were prone to watching their talented teammate weave and dribble in a crowd of defenders.

Without passing outlets, Preis was held in check.

“We tended to go straight down the middle of the field and that made it easy for their defenders to clog the middle,” Chatsworth Coach Desmond Willows said.

In front of the Chatsworth goal, the middle was open. On Salazar’s goals, the Chancellors allowed Sanches’ kicks to sail untouched from the corner to the far post.