Vancouver Has Zodiac’s Number in 2-1 A-League Victory

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the Zodiac’s first loss in franchise history was that it easily could have been victory No. 2.

Domenic Mobilio scored in the 86th minute to give the Vancouver 86ers a 2-1 victory over the Zodiac in an A-League soccer game of the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues in front of 1,400 Friday at Santa Ana Stadium.

The 86ers (2-2) didn’t dominate the Zodiac (1-1), in fact, Orange County had plenty of opportunities to score early and late in the game.

Zodiac forward Jose Vasquez, who scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 overtime victory against El Paso Sunday, used his speed to create three great scoring chances in the second half and the Zodiac had three other shots inside the penalty area in the first 11 minutes.

But the Zodiac only managed a goal by Santa Ana’s Gustavo Leal, who scored on a shot from 25 yards to make it, 1-1, in the 44th minute.

“Our finishing is not there yet,” Zodiac Coach Tony Cerna said.

The Zodiac played solidly although the 86ers took advantage of some defensive lapses to score their goals.

In the 19th minute, Vancouver’s Steve Kindel had enough time to practically tee-up his shot from 25 yards to give the 86ers a 1-0 lead.

Mobilio, a member of the Canadian national team, scored the game-winning goal by taking a high crossing pass from Oliver Heald and settling the ball before easily beating Zodiac goalie Mike Gartlan from 10 yards.

After the game, Cerna said he wanted Gartlan to come out further to challenge Mobilio’s shot, like he did earlier in the game.

But twice in the final 21 minutes Gartlan challenged Vancouver attackers in the outer reaches of the penalty area, and twice the 86ers maneuvered around him to get shots at a wide open net. But the Zodiac defenders managed to clear the shots and prevented any goals.

Although nerve racking, Cerna praised that aggressive play.

“You should have fun playing,” Cerna said. “If you can’t have fun, then you should go somewhere else. It’s going to be a long season.”