The two fastest teams in the Moore League battled on Friday afternoon at Poly, and two goals early in the second half proved the difference as the visiting Cabrillo Jaguars outlasted the Jackrabbits, 3-1.

The speedy squads were a little limited on the small Poly pitch, but the overall pace of the match was so exhausting that Cabrillo coach Pat Noyes used his entire bench.  A bench that he usually only goes five deep with.

Both teams showcased their counter attack in the first half, and Cabrillo broke through in the 26th minute on a nice finish from forward Fernando Jaime.   The beautiful give-and-go was run to perfection on the near side when Jaime sent it out to Miguel Hernandez, whose return touch to the outside was met by one controlling touch and a mighty blast, beating Poly keeper Ruben Rangel on the short side.

Cabrillo jumped on the ‘Rabbits early in the second half with a 42nd minute goal from Hernandez.  Phillip Regalado sent an over ball into the box, and Rangel came out to play it.  But he was a split second too late, and Hernandez put it away for the 2-0 advantage.

Eight minutes later, Hernandez added his second goal of the afternoon with a thunderous free kick from about 22 yards out.  The ball was slightly deflected by the Poly wall and that was enough to fool Rangel to make it 3-0 Jaguars.

Coming off the bench for Poly, forwards Hugh Van Camp and Joshua Gamboa proved a spark, increasing the pace in Poly’s offensive zone and making it count in the 62nd minute.  After an over ball got kicked around in the box, Van Camp sent a volley at Cabrillo keeper Jose Duron, who punched it to the near side.  Gamboa gained possession and put it on goal again.  Duron got another hand on it, but Gamboa put his own rebound into the back of the net.

Roving midfielder Kevin Jimenez and forward Linder Sibrian, who both played inspired minutes, were able to give the Jackrabbits sporadic opportunities late in the game, but 3-1 was as close as Poly would get.  At times during the match, one wondered if the referees were swallowing the whistle, or had just left them at home.  The Jackrabbits took advantage of the allowed physical play, but seven yellow cards in the second half slowed the game down and allowed Cabrillo to catch their breath and keep Poly scoreless for the last 15 minutes.