Boys’ soccer: Servite takes day off, then beats Santa Margarita, 1-0

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

After having lost to Trinity League foes St. John Bosco and Mater Dei in consecutive games, Servite Coach Mike Lussier canceled Thursday’s practice in anticipation of the Friars’ big league game against Santa Margarita on Friday.

The strategy worked as the Friars beat the visiting Eagles, 1-0, on a goal by Hunter Carlson in the 62nd minute.

‘After we lost to Mater Dei, I told them, ’We’re working too hard,’ ‘ Lussier said. ‘We’re a good team -- we’ve hit a slump -- I knew they were going to play hard against Santa Margarita. I told them to take the day off, study hard for finals, and we’ll come back and win Friday.’

And that’s exactly what happened -- though 15 players showed up on their own Thursday for a practice run by the team’s captains.

Carlson’s goal was the result of another Lussier gamble. Carlson usually starts at midfield in a defensive role, but Lussier shifted the junior to forward to put a big body up top to challenge Santa Margaritas’ tall defenders.

Midfielder Ben Chavez took advantage of the situation midway through the second half, when he sent a cross into the penalty box from about 40 yards yards out. Santa Margarita’s Garret Martinez got to the ball first, but Martinez’ clearance bounced off Carlson and into the back of the net. It was Carlson’s eighth goal of the season.

‘I have to admit, the way that ball hit [Carlson], there was a component of luck,’ Lussier said. ‘Absolutely.’

Santa Margarita (13-2-4, 4-1-1) generated about three times as many scoring opportunities as Servite (19-3-3, 4-3-1) but couldn’t beat goalkeeper Chris Violas, a junior who collected his 14th shutout of the season.

There were scattered showers throughout the game, but that was enough to make Servite’s artificial field slicker, which caused the ball to spin faster, making it difficult for players to control their passes.

‘It stopped our skill,’ Santa Margarita Coach Curt Bauer said. ‘We’re more of a skill, finesse team, where they just bang it and chase it. We had our chances. We had great opportunities. We just couldn’t put it away. Their goalkeeper played great.’

The Eagles’ best chance came in the 27th minute on a corner kick, when forward Mike Munoz headed the ball into the upper corner of the goal. Munoz’s header had beaten Violas and was heading into the back of the net until Alex Lopez cleared the ball at the last second.

‘At that moment the ball beat the goalie and Alex was there,’ Lussier said. ‘It takes great plays to win those games. Al stepped up and had a good game’

After the game both coaches talked about Servite’s student section, which was quite boisterous. After the game, while the players were lining up to shake hands, the students began chanting, ‘Winners ...losers! Winners ... losers!’ wile pointing first at their players and then at Santa Margarita’s.

Lussier said he apologized to Bauer for the fans’ actions, but Bauer also claimed that the Servite students also made inappropriate sexual remarks toward his players and even spit on them.

Two weeks ago, the teams played to a 1-1 draw in a match in which three players were red-carded. Servite and Santa Margarita are not schedule to play again in the regular season but could meet in the Southern Section Divison I playoffs, which begin Feb. 13.

-- Jaime Cardenas