MILLIKAN 1, WILSON 0
The battle for first place in the Moore League was not the prettiest of contests, but the one goal that decided it was and Andres Montes’ 39th minute strike lifted the Rams over the Bruins, 1-0. The win puts Millikan in first place with a 4-0-2 mark, and the loss drops Wilson to 4-1-0.
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Wilson outshot Millikan 17-to-12 and earned ten corner kicks to the Rams’ four, but the taller Bruins couldn’t take advantage of the height discrepancy on set pieces and any of their many scoring chances.
The play in this matchup was slowed down mightily by Wilson’s long ball service and the poor field conditions due to last week’s rain. Millikan did their best to push the pace and work on the outside. That’s exactly how Montes got open after Julio Ramirez stole the ball and Meyer Vazquez sent a thru pass to the corner of the box. Montes ran up on the bouncing ball and snuck it past Wilson goalkeeper Adrian Hirt on the near side. Hirt did rack up six saves, but the story in goal belonged to Millikan’s Jorge Becerra.
Despite facing relentless Wilson pressure and 17 shots on the afternoon Becerra stopped all nine shots on goal. The Ram defense and senior stopper has allowed three goals in the last 14 games.
“Last year was a white collar team, they had the varsity experience and played like it,” said Millikan coach Rod Petkovic of his 2008-09 squad that went to the CIF Finals. “This year is a blue collar team… they may not have the time on the field, but they’ll work for everything.”
“I feel pretty safe back there,” said the Bacerra. “It doesn’t feel any different from last year.”
With senior Jesse Hernandez still leading the way on the back line and new starters like Ishmael Ayala and Grant Sanders stepping in nicely, Millikan could be on their way to another Moore League title.
LAKEWOOD 3, POLY 2
Martin Ramirez and Bryce King each scored for Poly and the Jackrabbits looked to be headed for an improbable start to the Moore League. However, an own goal and a missed PK in the second half lifted the Lancers to a 3-2 victory. Lakewood improves to 2-2-1 in league, and Poly falls to 1-3-1.