Poly Doesn’t Allow Cervantes Any Slack
No foul play, no fisticuffs, no fireworks.
Just a hard-earned 3-1 victory by Poly High, which put the pressure on Reseda freshman goalkeeper Jorge Cervantes and added some heat to the Valley Pac-8 Conference soccer chase Thursday afternoon at Reseda.
David Estrada scored two goals for Poly, which burned the Reseda defense for several one-on-one scoring chances against Cervantes, playing in his first game this season after becoming academically eligible Wednesday.
The game was relatively clean compared to the recent clashes between the teams, but the Parrots (8-1-3 overall and in conference play) were more physical, a direct correlation to how many goals they scored.
“At least this time, it wasn’t as dirty as last year,” Estrada said. “Just good, hard playing.”
The past three games between the teams were accentuated by emotion and, at times, fighting.
Last season, Poly stunned the Regents in the first meeting and, after Reseda won the rematch, a brief scuffle broke out during the handshake, leading to a Poly player’s dismissal from the team. A confrontation between Reseda players and Poly supporters took place in the parking lot.
Fast forward to this season and last month’s game. Poly fell behind twice to Reseda, but earned a 2-2 tie on a goal by Juan Vega with six minutes left.
Poly didn’t have to rally Thursday.
The Parrots opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when Hugo Navarro hit Estrada with a downfield pass. Estrada dribbled in alone on Cervantes and buried the ball in the right corner.
Cervantes found himself in another one-on-one situation in the second minute of the second half when Jose Gomez turned a poor Reseda clearing attempt into a goal from outside the top of the box and a 2-0 Poly edge.
Reseda (11-1-3, 9-1-2) finally awoke with about 30 minutes left and buzzed around Poly goalkeeper Eduardo Merta for most of the second half, closing to within 2-1 in the 56th minute on a converted penalty kick by Rocael Monzon.
But with the Reseda defense selling out to help boost the offense, Estrada scored again on a one-on-one that beat Cervantes in the left corner with three minutes left.
The Regents’ coaching staff did not blame Cervantes.
“He will be the best goalie ever at Reseda and will be [an NCAA] Division I goalie,” Reseda assistant coach Terry Davila said. “Estrada’s a good finisher. You give him those opportunities and he’s going to score.”
With three games left for each team, Reseda (20 points) still owns the edge over Poly (19 points) in the conference title race, but Estrada made a point.
“We won the series,” he said. “That was the important part for us.”
