SAN CLEMENTE – Servite has scored two own-goals this season, the most recent Friday night at San Clemente High.
This time, it turned out to be a game-winner.
An uncharacteristic defensive lapse by the Friars in the 37th minute gave Buchanan of Clovis the lead and Diego Banda knocked in two goals after that in the Bears’ 3-0 victory over the Friars in the semifinals of the Lotto Sport Western Showcase.
Buchanan will face Brophy Prep of Phoenix, Ariz., in Saturday’s tournament championship.
On the road to the final, the Bears beat teams ranked No. 1 (Servite) and No. 3 (Loyola of Los Angeles) in the most recent CIF-SS Division 1 poll.
It was the most lopsided defeat for the Friars since Brophy Prep of Phoenix beat Servite, 3-0, on Dec. 28, 2012. It’s the first time in 14 games the Friars have been shut out.
Coming into the game, the Friars were scoring 3.4 goals per game.
“This was a tough one. It was a disappointing result, but that is football,” Servite coach Jon Spencer said. “Hats off to them. You have to be humble when you play. You have to work for everything you get.
“I can’t say this is a game that I feel like we should be losing. It was a wake-up call.”
Twice the Friars came within inches of avoiding the shutout.
In the 36th minute, Oscar Flores drilled a 20-yard free kick over the Bears’ five-man wall and into the face of the crossbar. The ball bounced off the turf and out for a Buchanan goal kick.
In the 62nd minute, Elijah Barajas smashed a shot off the far post. By that point, the Friars (5-1) were trailing, 2-0.
Six minutes earlier, Banda lined a low curling shot inside the far post and underneath Keith Murphy’s arms as he stretched out to make the save for the Friars.
Banda set the final margin in the 69th minute, scoring on a counterattack.
“We are going to have to build off this one and move forward,” Spencer said. “But I believe in our defense. We are going to be good.”
Contact the writer: ddottore@ocregister.com
