SAN DIEGO - League rivalries exist even when the game is part of a holiday boys soccer tournament and held at high school in a different county.
Servite and JSerra proved that much on Tuesday during a physical, emotion-filled Showcase bracket semifinal of the So Cal High School Classic.
In between all of the whistles, elbows, tackles and yellow cards, Charlie Miller and Brendan Luna each scored a goal to help the Friars beat its Trinity League foe here at Cathedral Catholic High School.
It was the eighth shutout for the Friars in their past eight games. They brought a seven-game shutout streak into this prestigious tournament which features some of the top-rated programs in the nation. But during pool play on Monday Corona del Sol of Arizona scored three goals against Servite, and later in the day Cathedral Catholic scored one on the Friars (9-2-2).
"My guys are organized. We are not winning games because all of the kids are great players. No," Servite coach Mike Lussier said. "We are winning because we are organized and playing together as a team. If you look at some of the other schools, they have great players. We have average players playing together as hard as they can. And it is getting some results."
The Friars has to play the last 15 minutes of the game a man down after Andre Spencer drew a red card for his agressive, ill-timed tackle at midfield that left JSerra's Lucas Dall'Orso with red cleat marks on his stomach. He stayed on his hands and knees for close to a minute before limping off to the bench.
But he was able to return later in the game and attempted a penalty kick after two Servite defenders and JSerra's Jonathan Canales got tangled up in the box.
Servite goalkeeper Chris Martinez was able to dive to his left quick enough and got a hand on the ball, knocking it off the post. Dall'Orso was there to get the rebound, but his header sailed wide left.
Spencer's red card was the second for the Friars during the tournament and the third that they have received during the first month of the season. Still, Lussier isn't concerned.
"First one we got absolute red card. Second one we got it was a poor call on my opinion. Today, our player was late. It was a hard intense game, and he was late there," Lussier said. "The kid was quicker than he thought he was. And that happens. But on each of the red cards, there is no malicious intention."
JSerra (10-2-2) lost a player, too, in the final seconds when Cristian Canales to a yellow-red. Even though the rules permit it, the referee would not allow JSerra coach Davor Fabulch to send in a sub.
Jserra did have its chances, especially in the second half. Alex Wasilewski, who has scored seven goals in the Lions' past seven games, almost tied the game 1-1. But his one-touch redirection of a cross into the box, went over the cross bar, which got in the way for the Lions once again when Canales took a shot from 30-yards out.
The Friars, are averaging 2.3 goals per game during the tournament, took a 1-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game when Miller redirected a cross from Luna, who gave Servite a 2-0 lead in the 56th minute when he fired his shot into a wide open net. Luna took control of a loose ball while JSerra junior goalkeeper Kyle Pierce was lying on the turf.
"We are dinged up, we have guys out with injury ... sickness," Lussier said. The Friars are still missing one of their stars, Nick Echeverry, the kicker who helped lead Servite's football team to a state Division II championship. Lussier is giving him some time off to rest before league begins early next month. "We are on a skeleton crew, so I am proud of my guys."
In another So Cal Classic game:
Santa Margarita 3, St. Francis 1: Duncan Capriotti, Ryan Kaabi and Nick O'Brien each scored a goal for the Eagles (4-5-1) during the consolation semifinal. The Eagles will play Cathedral Catholic in the consolation championshop on Wednesday.
"We have been battling a lot of injuries. My starting four defenders are all out with injuries," Santa Margarita coach Wade Fraser said. "But when league starts, I think we will be right up there. This team fights and works very hard."
