No. 1 Woodbridge Back on Track

In case anyone was wondering, Woodbridge’s loss to University Monday was a fluke. The top-ranked Warriors shook off their first loss and beat Santa Margarita, 4-0, Friday at Alton Park.

The Warriors scored twice in the first 13 minutes and coasted behind the defense of sweeper Kevin Friedland and goalkeeper Doug Allan, who missed Monday’s game because he was in Chula Vista training with the under-19 national team.

“I was giving them grief,” Allan said. “I told them, ‘How can you do that? Lose to our cross-town rivals like that.’ They shouldn’t need me. Our team is good enough without me.”

The Warriors (13-1, 1-0) didn’t need Allan to do much Friday. He made only three saves, but he did provide stability in the back and some much needed senior leadership.

“We’ve got a good mix of seniors and freshmen,” Woodbridge Coach Jon Szczuka said. “The seniors lead the freshmen into the game and then the freshmen take us through.”

The freshmen didn’t wait long to make an impact. Freshman Dave Chun scored in the first minute and freshman Pieter Berger scored 12 minutes later off a nice cross from freshman Roy Chingirian.

Midway through the half, the county’s top-ranked team had five freshmen on the field.

In the 32nd minute, Friedland scored on a 40-yard free kick that fooled Santa Margarita goalkeeper Erick Foss. Senior Mark Oehlman closed out the scoring when he knocked in a loose ball in the 45th minute.

“They had four shots and they got four goals,” said Santa Margarita Coach Curt Bauer, whose team dropped to 8-5-3 and 0-1 in the Sea View League. “I was extremely impressed with the way they finished.”