Goal-Oriented Sims Leads Reseda

William Sims broke William Diaz’s Reseda High season record of 26 goals set in 1995 with a three-goal performance Monday against Sylmar.

The junior forward scored only one on Friday but his 28th was enough to put away San Fernando, 1-0, in a Valley Mission League game at Reseda.

“I’ve been looking to break the record since I came here,” said Sims, who has 40 career goals and is chasing his brother Oscar Sims’ record of 72 from 1995-98. “I’ve always wanted to be one of the scoring leaders.”

The Regents (17-5-2, 3-2-1 in league play) pulled to within one point of league-leading San Fernando (7-7-1, 4-2) with four games remaining.

Sims’ goal came in the sixth minute when his shot from 10 yards was partially blocked by goalkeeper Edgar Rodriguez but looped into the goal.

If not for Rodriguez’s eight saves, Reseda could have blown the game open.

Luis Hernandez’s shot from five yards was partially blocked by Rodriguez but hit the crossbar in the second minute.

Sims’ header after a corner kick in the 18th minute beat Rodriguez, , but was cleared by defender Humberto Hernandez.

Rodriguez made a diving save on another Sims’ header in the 22nd minute to keep the game close.

“I got really frustrated,” Sims said. “I’ve been working on finishing, but when it comes to game time, I choke.

Sims took seven of Reseda’s 15 shots.

Wet and muddy field conditions made playing difficult. The center of the field was covered by pools of water.

“Our goal was not to play in the middle,” said Reseda Coach Julio Castillo. “We wanted to play through the wings, especially on a field like this where it was all wet and muddy.”

San Fernando’s best chance came when Juan Sanchez broke through the Reseda defense, but his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Gabriel Venegas.

“The field was not playable so we waited for them to attack and then counterattacked,” said San Fernando Coach Arturo Vasquez.

“I thought we had more chances to score than they did, but we couldn’t finish them.”