Before starting Trinity League play Friday afternoon, Santa Margarita boys soccer coach Wade Fraser told the Eagles to be ready for a month-long battle.
To get results, he said, they would have to stay organized and work harder than they had up to that point in the season.
There would be no easy games, Fraser cautioned. The teams are too well coached, and some programs, such as Orange Lutheran, the Eagles’ opponent Friday, are much improved.
It didn’t take long for the Eagles to see that their coach hadn’t fallen victim to pregame panic attack. As predicted, the No. 8 Lancers made it tough for No. 6 Santa Margarita to get into the final third at times, but the host Eagles were up for the fight and escaped with a 2-1 victory.
“That is not the Orange Lutheran that I have been used to for the past nine years,” Fraser said. “They are doing something right. They have a system and they are trying to play. They are going to do some damage in league this year.”
The Lancers (5-6-2, 0-1-0) made a mistake while trying to clear the loose ball out of the box in the 24th minute, and the Eagles (9-3-2, 1-0-0) pounced on it. The mistake allowed Connor Riley to knock the ball into an empty net, giving Santa Margarita a 1-0 lead.
Juan Olivares extended the Eagles’ lead to 2-0 with a goal in the 64th minute.
The Lancers cut the Eagles’ advantage in half when Caleb Egan knocked a corner kick inside the near post in the 72nd minute.
The goal was particularly frustrating for Fraser because the Eagles had spent more than a half hour during Thursday’s practice working on defending set pieces.
“Bottom line is, we worked hard,” Fraser said, “and I am proud of that.”
Contact the writer: ddottore@scng.com
