Woodbridge Breaks Troy’s Spirit, 4-1

Woodbridge boys’ soccer Coach Jon Szczuka took one look at the scores from the first two playoff rounds and knew his team could not take Troy lightly.

“I saw all the ranked teams going down,” Szczuka said. “It scared the hell out of me.”

Apparently Szczuka’s players got the message. They played one of their best games of the season, dominating overmatched Troy, 4-1, in the second round of the Southern Section Division II playoffs Tuesday at Irvine High.

The fourth-seeded Warriors (18-2-6), one of only six teams ranked in the top 10 who survived the wild-card round and the first round, will play Sunny Hills in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Woodbridge took away Troy’s spirit early, scoring twice in the first 25 minutes on goals by midfielders Kevin Friedland and Mark Ohlman.

Troy (11-11-1) made it interesting when Ryan Howes tipped in a throw-in from Andy Hirsch in the 31st minute. But Woodbridge midfielder Daniel Chun answered two minutes later when he followed in an Ashkahn Moeyedi header to make it 3-1.

The Warriors put it away on a 15-yard blast from the left wing by Arman Millikien in the 61st minute. Woodbridge outshot Troy, 15-3, and would have won more decisively if not for eight saves by Troy goalkeeper Mike Orin.