Balancing Act Helps Santa Ana Win Again

Santa Ana, the only unbeaten team in the Southern Section Division I boys’ soccer playoffs, got goals from five players and scored an easy 6-0 victory over La Puente Nogales in first-round action on Friday.

Hector Candelas scored in the 12th minute, and Juan Reyes scored the first of his two goals three minutes later to spark the rout.

Vicente Hernandez, Mario Gonzalez and Horatio Velasquez also scored for the Saints, who improved to 18-0-4. Nogales, a wild-card winner, finished 13-11-1.

Goalkeeper Miguel Ortiz had seven saves in recording his seventh shutout of the season. The Saints led at halftime, 3-0.

Santa Ana plays its second-round game Tuesday against Chino Hills Ayala, which defeated L.A. Loyola, 2-1.

In other Division I games:

Capistrano Valley 1, Palos Verdes Peninsula 0--Zack Brennan was credited with the winning goal in the 15th minute when top-seeded Peninsula tried to clear a throw-in but the ball bounced off one of its defenders into the goal. Jon Tarnow had 10 saves for the Cougars, who host Esperanza on Tuesday.

Esperanza 2, Long Beach Millikan 1--Goalkeeper Nate Fikse scored on a penalty kick early in the second half to tie the score, and Mike Murphy scored the winner with 16 minutes left for Esperanza (24-3-1).

Fountain Valley 2, Lynwood 0--Nick Tolman scored midway through the second half and Ryan Futagaki added the Baron’s second goal in the game’s last minute. Fountain Valley (15-5-3) plays Saddleback on Tuesday.

Saddleback 5, Santa Ana Valley 1--Alex Licea scored once and had two assists for Saddleback, whose starting goalkeeper, Efrian Rodriguez, dislocated his right kneecap five minutes into the game and was replaced by sophomore Jose Carrion.

In Division III:

Canyon 4, Phelan Serrano 0--Joey Velez and Cesar Corona each scored two goals for Canyon, which led, 1-0, at the half. Canyon (18-5-2) plays El Centro Southwest, a 3-1 winner over Pomona Ganesha, Tuesday.

El Modena 5, Santiago 4 (OT)--Roberto Lugo scored the winning goal off David Higgin’s third assist with two minutes left in the second overtime. El Modena (15-3-3) led, 4-2, at the half, but goals by Adrian Villacana and Gerardo Dominguez tied the score for Santiago (11-8-3). El Modena plays at Laguna Hills on Tuesday.

Laguna Hills 2, Pacifica 0--Playing in their first varsity game, Darren Doi scored off Jason Surya’s corner kick to give Laguna Hills (11-10-5) a 1-0 lead late in the first half. Bryan Doi scored in the second half.

Newport Harbor 2, Valencia 0--Garrett Jansma scored Newport Harbor’s first goal after stealing the ball at midfield. Chris Wakim scored the second. Newport Harbor (10-3-3) plays Sea View League rival Santa Margarita on Tuesday. Valencia finishes 7-8-5.

Santa Margarita 4, Western 0--Byron Foss stopped five shots to record his fourth shutout in the last five games and Anthony Boscarini had two goals for Santa Margarita (13-7-4).

Servite 2, Troy 0--Mark Kisting assisted on both goals for fourth-seeded Servite (17-4-4). Ryan Delaney and Matt Terry scored for the Friars, who will face Hacienda Heights Wilson on Tuesday. Troy finishes 7-11-3.

Torrance 1, Brea Olinda 0 (OT)--Torrance (11-10-5) scored in the final two minutes of the second overtime to upset Orange League champion Brea Olinda (13-3-6).

In Division IV:

Estancia 3, Fullerton 2--Jose Quintana scored two goals, including the winner, to lead Estancia, which plays Pacific Coast League rival Laguna Beach on Tuesday.

Laguna Beach 5, La Quinta 1--Senior Chris Whitworth scored four goals to bring his season total to 18 for Laguna Beach (15-4-3).

Orange Lutheran 4, Santa Fe Springs St. Paul 0--Mike Byard, Sean Silva, Pat Chollet-Guibert and Eric Van De Zilver scored goals for Orange Lutheran (21-2-2), which plays Lakewood Mayfair, a 3-0 winner over Calvary Chapel, on Tuesday.

In Division V:

St. Margaret’s 2, Redlands Arrowhead Christian 0--Patrick Moss scored both goals in the first half for St. Margaret’s (11-5-3), which plays Aquinas, a 3-0 winner over Loma Linda, on Thursday.