Harvard-Westlake Shocks St. Francis

Outshot and thoroughly outplayed, the Harvard-Westlake High boys’ soccer team nonetheless pulled out an improbable 1-0 victory over visiting St. Francis on Monday in a Mission League game.

The result put the Wolverines (15-8-1, 8-3 in league play) in position to claim a share of their second consecutive league title by winning Friday at Loyola in a regular season finale.

St. Francis held a 15-5 shot advantage but was left in shock after surrendering Lerato Simelane’s ninth goal with four minutes to play.

“We had our chances but if you don’t finish them you don’t win,” said Glen Appels, St. Francis coach. “[Harvard-Westlake] didn’t play much soccer, it was just a lot of grabbing, but it destroyed what we were trying to do.”

The Wolverines, who began league play 0-2 but have won six in a row, forced the Golden Knights (14-5-5, 7-2-2) to shoot mostly from outside the penalty area and overcame their sluggish play in the first half.

Leo Benitez, Harvard-Westlake’s goalkeeper, was outstanding, making six saves and moving off his line to snare corner kicks, crosses and throw-ins.