HUNTINGTON BEACH – Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Los Alamitos boys soccer coach Donovan Martinez could see that the Griffins might be in trouble.
Edison was having little trouble getting behind the Griffins’ back line down the right side and appeared close to breaking the scoreless tie.
“We had to lock things up there. I saw the warning sign,” Martinez said.
An Edison shot turned into a save by Alec Lazar. Another shot, taken a few moments later, was cleared by a Los Alamitos defender.
But the Chargers’ next shot found the back of the net in the 56th minute, giving Jack Slavik his eighth goal of the season and host Edison a 1-0 victory in a Sunset League game on Wednesday.
Taylor Kane set up the winner with his pass into the box.
“It was a great service,” Martinez said.
The victory put the No. 7 Chargers (9-5-2, 5-1) in first place, one game ahead of Huntington Beach. Los Alamitos (10-7-5, 3-2) drops to third.
The Chargers had a place in this week’s CIF-SS Division 1 poll, too, coming in at No. 10. Slavick, though, isn’t celebrating just yet.
“We are doing all right. … We are trying to reach the ceiling, which is CIF (championship),” Slavick said. “We have got to keep on working to get up there.”
The Griffins were relentless in the final 20 minutes, sending several free kicks, long throws and shots into the box. Three minutes after the Chargers scored, Matt Wall crossed the ball in to Brett Hall as he made a near-post run, but before Hall could catch up to the ball, Kane cleared it, ending the Griffins’ threat.
Kane also derailed the Griffins’ attempt to score in the 63rd minute, blocking Charlie Ross’ cross to Hall.
“They were putting everything (they) had forward, and I was proud of the guys to get through,” Edison coach Charlie Breneman said. “They realize how close these Sunset League games can be, and tonight was an example of grinding out the win.”
Contact the writer: ddottore@ocregister.com
