Zodiac Earns Its First Playoff Berth

The Zodiac clinched its first playoff berth Friday night with a 4-2 A-League victory over San Francisco Bay before about 450 at Mission Viejo High.

“It’s cool,” Zodiac Coach Mike Gartlan said after hearing his team had clinched a playoff berth. “What do you want me to say? We don’t want to just get in. We want to win it.”

The Zodiac (14-9) scored three times during a seven-minute stretch midway through the first half, then held off the Seals, who scored two short-handed goals after forward Ryshiem Henderson was ejected for fighting with Zodiac defender Shawn Saunders. Zodiac midfielder Brad Wilson put the game out of reach with a late goal off an assist from Mario Sanchez.

The Zodiac, in its second year, can do no worse than tie the Seals (10-13) for the last playoff berth. Friday night’s victory gives the Zodiac a 3-1 season series edge on the Seals and the first playoff tiebreaker.

“The playoffs were our goal, now we can play for a home-field advantage,” said Zodiac forward Steve Patterson, who opened the scoring in the 21st minute on a diving header off a cross from P.J. Polowski.

Less than two minutes later, midfielder Mike Matson outran two Seal defenders and headed in a indirect kick by Wilson. Peter Lak made it 3-0 by heading in a cross from Matson in the 28th minute.

The momentum shifted 15 minutes into the second half when Saunders and Henderson became involved in a scuffle that cleared both benches and left the Seals a player down.

Defender Ken Rogaski scored in the 62nd minute for San Francisco and midfielder Josh Kalkstein beat Zodiac goalkeeper Mike Littman five minutes later with a sliding kick off a corner by Shani Simpson to make it 3-2.

“It’s something we need to work on, keeping focused,” Patterson said. “Sometimes, I think we get caught watching.”

Littman said he thinks his team is simply searching for some excitement.

“We’re still striving for a full game,” he said. “The first half was the best we’ve played all year. But we get bored. We play better in tight games.”