Reseda, Monroe Lacking Offense

Reseda High’s trademark fast-paced offense was absent in a 0-0 tie with Monroe on Friday afternoon in a Valley Mission League boys’ game in Reseda.

“This is not Reseda soccer,” said Coach Julio Castillo of Reseda. “This is not us. This is probably the worst game we’ve ever played.

“I think maybe it’s because we see Monroe always giving us a good game and we gave them too much respect. We don’t play two bad games in a row. We are going to bounce back. We are going to be a lot stronger next time.”

The Regents’ one-two punch of midfielder Edwin Miranda and forward Jesse Servin was quiet and, with the exception of midfielder Rosendo Gonzales, Reseda appeared sluggish on offense.

“We weren’t clicking,” said Castillo. “Guys were holding onto the ball too long. Offensively, we were trying to force things through the middle. We usually play the ball to the outsides.”

The tie allowed Reseda (8-3-2, 3-0-1) to retain sole possession of first place in the league. The teams combined for 28 shots, although only six were on goal. Forward Danny Corales got off an array of shots for Monroe (5-1-1, 2-1-1) in the first half, but couldn’t keep them on target.

“We gave them the ball the entire first half, but they couldn’t score,” said Castillo. “This game showed us a lot. I believe this is the best they can play, but we can play much better.”

A big reason why neither team could muster much offense was because 44 fouls were called and eight yellow cards issued.

A yellow card to Servin in the 59th minute changed Reseda’s game plan. Servin didn’t return after the card.

“The referee told me if I put him back in he was going to red-card him,” Castillo said.

Soon after Servin’s yellow card, Castillo moved Miranda to sweeper.

“Both of our sweepers got hurt,” Castillo said. “Edwin has been our sweeper for the last three years. We only moved him to the midfield to create offense.

“We’ve been working a lot on defense. We’ve been concentrating on defense every single day. Defense was our problem in the beginning of the season.”

With the offenses slumping, neither goalkeeper was seriously challenged.

Reseda’s best chance to score came in the 66th minute off a free kick.

Miranda’s blast from 30 yards hit the defensive wall, and Allofs Lima’s shot on the rebound hit the post. It was Reseda’s first shot on goal. Only three of Reseda’s 13 shots were on goal.

Monroe’s best chance to score came when Oscar Galicia’s header off a pass by Gerardo Romero landed in the hands of the goalkeeper.