Santa Ana Valley, Canyon Come Away With a 1-1 Tie

Santa Ana Valley and Canyon failed to settle the issue of second place in the Century League thanks to a 1-1 tie Wednesday in boys’ soccer.

Field conditions were excellent before the game, but rain made the field increasingly soggy in the scoreless second half.

Carlos Cortez, who was assisted by Ryan Hardel, scored 10 minutes into the game for Canyon (13-8-1, 4-2). Santa Ana Valley’s Robert Blanco, off an assist by Oswaldo Najarro, tied the score at the 30-minute mark.

Greg Baudod had five saves for Canyon and Marco Hernandez, who was making his first start in goal, recorded six saves for Santa Ana Valley (14-4-2, 4-1-2).

“I’m sure this would have been a much better game if we played on a dry field,” Canyon Coach Rick Gianetti said. “But under the circumstances, both teams played a good game.”

When these teams met earlier this season, Santa Ana Valley beat Canyon, 3-2.

“Who knows what the outcome might have been [in this game] if the conditions were different,” Gianetti said. “There’s was no doubt that this game would be tough . . . no matter what the weather was like.”

In another Century League game:

Foothill 1, El Modena 1--El Modena’s Nick Purdom scored with five minutes remaining to tie Foothill. Evan Elliott had given the Knights (7-7-7, 1-1-5) a 1-0 lead five minutes into the second half. El Modena is 6-9-3, 1-4-2.

In the Empire League:

Loara 1, Century 1--Johnny Villafana scored in the 28th minute for host Century (12-2-3, 4-0-3).

In the Freeway League:

Buena Park 1, Troy 0--Senior Tony Cisneros scored the only goal on a breakaway in the 50th minute for Buena Park (12-5-1, 3-3-1). Senior goalkeeper Jason Avila stopped three shots to record his eighth shutout of the season for the Coyotes.

In the Sunset League:

Esperanza 3, Los Alamitos 2--Goals by Mark Rodieck, Aaron Pugmire and Aaron Colacion gave the top-ranked Aztecs (19-2-2, 7-0) a 3-1 lead. Richie Mularkey had tied the score, 1-1, and Vedran Travica made it a one-point lead with 15 minutes remaining for Los Alamitos (8-9-1, 2-4-1).

Marina 2, Huntington Beach 2 (OT)--Robb Shepard scored in the 65th minute to give host Marina (8-10-1, 2-4-1) a 2-1 lead. But Aaron McAthy scored his second goal five minutes later for Huntington Beach (8-9-2, 2-3-2), and the teams went scoreless in overtime.