Zodiac Fails to Shut Down Jaguars
The Zodiac, trying to atone for 1 1/2 months of lackluster play, had a strong team in trouble Sunday. But it couldn’t finish what it started as the California Jaguars escaped with a 1-0 A-League soccer victory in front of an announced crowd of 750 at Santa Ana Stadium.
The Zodiac controlled play for most of the game, but the Jaguars got a goal by Jerome Watson with four minutes remaining. It was a frustrating ending for the Zodiac (7-13), which went down to its eighth loss in 10 games but was finally showing signs that it could make things difficult for others in the Pacific Division.
Friday night the Zodiac beat the Jaguars, 3-1, in Gonzales and Sunday it was poised to win again. The Jaguars (13-10), tied for second with Colorado, had eight shots, compared to the Zodiac’s 19. Zodiac forward Mike Robles and defender Tayt Ianni each missed excellent chances to score.
With the clock winding down in the second half, Zodiac Coach Tony Cerna decided to go for the victory in regulation. Only sweeper Jose Vasquez hung back with goalkeeper Marco Cerna when the Zodiac had control of the ball.
“It was crucial to win this game,” Cerna said. “That’s why I was getting my guys to attack. We created opportunities, we just couldn’t finish them.”
The aggressive play nearly worked. In the 77th minute, Danny Macedo lofted a looping cross in front on the Jaguar goal. Alfred Partida and Jake Dancy went for the header, but goalkeeper Kevin Rueda was able to punch it away.
Dancy and Partida were crumpled on the ground--Dancy actually in the goal--when Ianni’s shot from the top of the penalty box sailed high.
The Zodiac kept pushing, but nine minutes later Jaguar forward Mark Baena dribbled by a Zodiac defender near the end line to the right of the goal and passed to Watson, who had time to settle and score from dead center.
It was a crushing blow to the Zodiac’s playoff hopes. The top four teams in each division qualify and a victory would have moved the Zodiac 12 points behind fourth-place Vancouver with eight games left.
Worse, the Zodiac stands to lose at least one player this week. Vasquez, the team’s strongest player, said he has reached an agreement to join the Galaxy, a move likely to happen today. Dancy also has had discussions with Galaxy officials and might also join the Major League Soccer team.
Kevin Grimes, the team’s starting sweeper most of this season, also is gone, leaving to become an assistant coach at Southern Methodist. Partida was expected to take over as sweeper but left the game because of a serious ankle injury after the collision around the Jaguar goal.
Tough times for the Zodiac. “Unfortunately, there are going to be a lot of changes,” Vasquez said, “and that always kills a team.”
