El Camino Real Puts Birmingham in Reverse, 2-0

Less than a month ago, Zach Feldman boldly predicted El Camino Real High would walk through West Valley League play undefeated in boys’ soccer.

However, the senior defender got caught with his foot in his mouth when the Conquistadores lost, 2-1, to Birmingham in their league opener Jan. 8.

With revenge and four winless seasons against the Patriots on their minds, the Conquistadores, ranked No. 1 in the region by The Times, came through with a 2-0 victory over Birmingham on Thursday night.

“We played well for all the seniors and the alumni and we finally beat Birmingham,” Feldman said. “But we are not taking this as an accomplishment.

“We still have more to do. We are looking to win league and get a good seed in playoffs.”

Yan Falkinstein scored two first-half goals, sending El Camino Real (18-3, 5-1 in league play) to its fifth consecutive victory.

The Conquistadores held first place, while the Patriots (7-7-5, 2-1-3) fell four points behind in second.

Falkinstein scored on a breakaway in the 10th minute and on a blast from 15 yards in the 23rd minute.

“I had an unfortunate setback during the winter when I hyper-extended my knee,” Falkinstein said. “It was frustrating, but [this] was a great boost.

“It was such a good feeling. That’s the way I was supposed to play the whole time.”

El Camino Real played the second half as if satisfied with a two-goal lead.

“We had chances, but every time they would clear it out we had to start over again,” said defender Victor Choi of El Camino Real. “I think we could have put more goals in, but the Birmingham defenders clear the ball well.”

The Patriots came to life in the second half.

The best opportunity came in the 47th minute when Andres Baena’s direct kick from 35 yards hit the crossbar.

“Coming into the second half we believed we could still win the game,” said Birmingham Coach E.B. Madha. “The first 30 minutes we didn’t have a midfield and they came at us like crazy. They beat us to every single ball.

“As soon as I made adjustments the game changed. I thought we played the second half toe-to-toe with them.”