Buena Owns Simi Valley and Claims 1-0 Victory

Creating offense has not been a problem for Buena High, but on Friday night finishing scoring opportunities was deemed impossible.

Fortunately for Buena, Simi Valley defender Eric De Los Santoss kicked the ball into his own goal while trying to clear a loose ball not two minutes into the game, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 nonleague victory.

“A win is a win,” said Coach Sean Roche of Buena. “We’ll take it any way we can get it. I thought we did enough to win. They were unlucky not to come out with a tie. I don’t know how you can lose when you play that good.”

Earlier in the season the teams tied in the quarterfinals of the Royal tournament but Simi Valley advanced on penalty kicks and went on to win the tournament.

Buena (10-4-1) failed on several chances to score. Forward Chris Parkin came close twice, hitting the crossbar in the 64th and 75th minutes.

Goalkeeper Scott Phillips of Simi Valley kept the game close by making several diving saves.

“It’s tough when you hit the post,” said Parkin, whose team outshot the Pioneers, 29-10. “I struggled with my shots but we played excellent.”

Simi Valley’s scoring opportunities weren’t as frequent as Buena’s, but they were there, mainly early in the second half when the Pioneers had five shots in the first five minutes.

“We had a lot more possession in the first half but they came out on fire in the second half,” Roche said.

Simi Valley’s best chance came when Howard Reyes beat two defenders but miss-hit his shot, sending it directly into the hands of goalkeeper Steve Howard.

The Pioneers (9-5), after winning the Royal tournament, have lost four of six.

“We are going through a slump right now,” Simi Valley Coach Willie Ruiz said. “It seems like we are desperate to score and it’s not working for us. It’s just [a matter of us] working out the knot we’re in now.”