Poly, Reseda Can’t Untie Emotions

Neither Reseda High nor Valley Pac-8 Conference rival Poly claimed victory or suffered defeat in their boys’ soccer game Tuesday, but the teams left the contest in markedly different moods.

The 2-2 score represented a spirited comeback for host Poly (3-0-2 overall and in conference play) and a stumble for the Regents (7-0-2, 4-0-1), considered the region’s best City Section team.

Reseda led twice, only to have the Parrots answer with a pair of Juan Vega goals, the second with six minutes to play.

“We didn’t give up at no time,” said Vega, who has six goals. “They dominated the ball pretty good but we stuck in there.”

The game was the latest in what has developed into a fierce rivalry. In last season’s first showdown between the teams, unheralded Poly stunned the Regents at Reseda, 3-1.

A month later, Reseda won at Poly, 5-1, to claim its second conference title in three years. A scuffle broke out in the handshake line, followed by a parking lot confrontation between the Reseda team and Poly supporters. The incidents led to one Poly player being dismissed from the team and four others receiving one-game suspensions.

For Tuesday’s game, Reseda brought along extra administrators and security personnel. But whereas the last contest featured 13 yellow cards, this game had only three and no other hostilities.

Reseda, known for controlling the ball with its short passing game, did so for the first 20 minutes and took a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute when Oscar Sims scored off assists from Carlos Morales and Jesse Servin.

But as the game wore on, Reseda’s crisp attack at times wilted and its defensive play broke down.

Poly forged a 1-1 tie six minutes after halftime when Vega scored off a pass from David Estrada. The Parrots had been outshot, 8-1, up to that point.

Reseda regained the lead in the 57th minute on a play beginning with a corner kick by Rosendo Gonzalez. After the ball bounced off several bodies in the goalmouth, Regent Rocky Monzon executed a bicycle kick to send the ball from the right post to the left post, where Edwin Miranda headed it in.

Poly’s second goal came on a defensive breakdown by Reseda, when Miguel Luquin’s cross skittered across the face of the goal and past several defenders. An unguarded Vega scored from five yards.

“We wanted it more than they did,” Poly’s Estrada said. “Reseda’s a good team but they’re not all that.”

Reseda’s Morales said he and his teammates lost focus, regaining it only after Parrot goals.

“They matched our intensity,” Morales said. “That’s what kept them in the game and then we didn’t clear balls we should have cleared.”