Nieto Propels Locke to Final He’ll Sit Out

Alex Nieto scored two goals in the first half to help visiting Los Angeles Locke to a 4-1 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday in a semifinal game of the City Section boys’ soccer playoffs.

Locke (13-4-3) will play Van Nuys Grant, a 3-2 winner over Los Angeles Jordan, in the City championship game at UCLA’s Drake Stadium on Saturday at 1:15 p.m.

The Saints will be without Nieto, however, who was ejected from Wednesday’s game after receiving two yellow cards within a matter of seconds in the second half.

Los Angeles (16-2) cut its deficit to 2-1 on a header by Gerson Paredes with 13 minutes left in the first half, but the Romans did not score again; two of their shots hit the left post in the second half.

Locke extended its lead to 3-1 on a goal by Fredy Martinez at the 64-minute mark and took a 4-1 advantage on a goal by Jaime Vargas 11 minutes later.

-- John Ortega

L.A. Channel 36 will televise the City boys’ and girls’ soccer and basketball championship games Saturday on a tape-delayed basis. The boys’ basketball final will air at 7 p.m., followed by the girls’ final at 9 p.m. The boys’ soccer final will be shown at 3 p.m., followed by the girls’ final at 5 p.m.

Dan O’Shea has been selected football coach at Long Beach St. Anthony. O’Shea was the quarterback coach on the varsity and the junior varsity coach at Long Beach Wilson this season.