The Harbor High School boy’s soccer team had its way with Scotts Valley in a disappointing loss for the Falcons that dropped them to 1-1 in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League.
“We found our midfielders,” said Harbor High coach Neil Pearlburg said. “We were able to switch the ball and find the right pass at the right time.”
Harbor scored two goals within two minutes of each other near the end of the first half and netted a third goal early in the second half of the 3-0 shutout.
First-year Scotts Valley head coach Jeremy Ross, a 2001 Harbor High School graduate, was disappointed his team wasn’t able to put the ball into the net.
“We focused too much on their offense,” Ross said. “We took ourselves out of our own game.”
In the first half, Ross said, the Falcons tried to push the ball up the sidelines too often, resulting in very few opportunities to score.
Scotts Valley goalkeeper Brenny Hillan made several big saves, but the Scotts Valley offense couldn’t muster any good scoring chances.
Then Harbor’s forwards snuck through and blasted consecutive shots past Hillan to open the scoring in the 38th and 39th minutes.
In the second half, down 2-0, the Falcons made a push, with Aaron Laing banging a shot off the crossbar after a corner kick. Scoring opportunities by Salvador Barrientos and Jacob Sanchez were blocked by the Harbor keeper or went wide of the goal.
Scotts Valley will play at Soquel High at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, before traveling to St. Francis for a 3:30 p.m. game Wednesday, Jan. 20.
“I’ve got high expectations for this team,” Ross said. “I expect to bring quality soccer to every team in this league. We have an extremely talented team.”
Scotts Valley girls
The Scotts Valley girls team continued its dominance in league play this week, having outscored opponents 13-0 through three games.
After a 9-0 win over St. Francis to open the league season, the Falcons defeated Aptos 2-0 on Jan. 7. Kelsey Baskovich and Brittany Kuo scored in the game.
Then, on Tuesday, Jan. 12, goalie Emily Johnson recorded another shutout, and Jordin Carlson scored twice to beat then-undefeated Harbor, 2-0.
The Falcons play next at Depot Park against Santa Cruz at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19.
