Laguna Hills Rallies to Defeat Laguna Beach
Laguna Hills came back from a two-goal halftime deficit to defeat Laguna Beach, 3-2, in a Pacific Coast League boys’ soccer game Friday at Laguna Hills.
Laguna Beach (13-4-2, 6-2) had an opportunity to go ahead by three goals early in the second half, but Laguna Hills goalkeeper Andy Johnson stopped a penalty kick.
The seventh-ranked Hawks (16-4-3, 6-1-1) responded by scoring three consecutive goals. They moved ahead of the Artists and into first place.
Jordan Maertz scored Laguna Hills’ first goal on a penalty kick. Ryan Johnson then tied the score with a header in the 73rd minute. Johnson then scored the winner two minutes later. He has 17 goals in 14 games.
In the Century League:
Foothill 1, Canyon 0--Adam Harrelson scored the winner in the 73rd minute and goalkeeper Nick Adams recorded his 10th shutout of the season for Foothill. The Knights are 11-6-6, 3-3-2. Goalkeeper Brandon Avery had six saves for Canyon (6-13-1, 1-7).
In the Century League:
Santa Ana Valley 4, Villa Park 3--Robert Blanco scored Santa Anas Valley’s fourth goal 10 minutes into the second half and the Falcons (15-3-1, 7-1) were able to hold on. Antonio Vasquez had two goals for Villa Park (3-4-1 in league).
In the Empire League:
In the Freeway League:
Sunny Hills 2, Sonora 2--Sunny Hills’ Jared Bruce and Sonora’s Nathan Ballard both scored on penalty kicks. Bruce also set up Beau Lawson’s goal. Sunny Hills is 9-10-3, 4-3-1. James Mena scored the other goal for Sonora (12-6-2, 5-2-1).
In the Sunset League:
Huntington Beach 2, No. 6 Esperanza 1--Upsetting its third top-10 team in a four-game winning streak, Huntington Beach moves into second place in league, ahead of Esperanza (5-3 in league). Aaron McAthy scored the winning goal, his 19th, with five minutes left in the game off an assist from Dave Mercier. Freddy Chemberlen gave the Oilers (10-7-2, 5-2-1) a 1-0 lead, 30 seconds into game.
Aaron Colacion tied it for Esperanza with two minutes left in the half.
In the South Coast League:
Dana Hills 2, San Clemente 0--Kristen Russert and Lauren Williams scored for visiting Dana Hills (1-6 in league).
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Rains forced the postponement of 19 boys’ soccer games Friday. Some schools are still looking for open days for makeup games, but these games have been rescheduled for Monday:
Empire League--Kennedy at Loara; Garden Grove League--Bolsa Grande at Santiago; Golden West League--Santa Ana at Ocean View; Pacific Coast League--Costa Mesa at University; Sea View League--El Toro at Santa Margarita, Newport Harbor at Corona del Mar; Sunset League--Fountain Valley at Edison, Marina at Los Alamitos.