Servite survives lineup juggling

Villa Park's Carlos Arreola heads the ball during the Spartans' 1-0 loss to the Hawks Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
Santa Margarita freshman midfielder Riley Wortmann fights off Servite defender Zane Rojas on Friday at Santa Margarita.
Servite senior defender Jonathan Pham fights off a Santa Margarita player on Friday at Santa Margarita.
Santa Margarita senior forward Jake Fisher, right, heads a corner kick on Friday at Santa Margarita
Servite's Kristopher Morgan battles for a header with Santa Margarita's Riley Domier on Friday at Santa Margarita.
Servite's Kristopher Morgan wins a header on Friday at Santa Margarita.
El Dorado head coach Steve McManus, right, talks strategy with his assistant coach during the Golden Hawks' 1-0 victory over Villa Park Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
Villa Park's Michael Cushing and El Dorado's Arthur Schall battle for a header during the Spartans' 1-0 loss to the Hawks Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
El Dorado's David Barran shoots and hits the goal post during the Golden Hawks' 1-0 victory over the Spartans Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
El Dorado's Jacob Conlon battles with Villa Park's Lee Bum during the Golden Hawks' 1-0 victory over the Spartans Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
Villa Park's Michael Cushing attacks the ball on a corner kick in front of the El Dorado defense during the Spartans' 1-0 loss to the Hawks Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
Villa Park's Dash Wulterin battles El Dorado's Cole Smith during the Spartans' 1-0 loss to the Hawks Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
El Dorado's Jacob Conlon tries to score on Villa Park goaltender Alejandro Espinoza during the Golden Hawks' 1-0 victory over the Spartans Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
Villa Park's Steve Lebres beats El Dorado's Matthew Anderson to the ball during the Spartans' 1-0 loss to the Hawks Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
Villa Park's Carlos Arreola appears to step on the face of El Dorado's Jacob Conlon during the Spartans' 1-0 loss to the Hawks Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
Villa Park's Thomas Williamson leaps over a sliding Noah Fulwider during the Spartans' 1-0 loss to the Hawks Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
El Dorado's David Barran scores the game's only goal during the Golden Hawks' 1-0 victory over the Spartans Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
El Dorado goalkeeper Noah Fulwider gets tangled up with Villa Parks' Michael Cushing as Connor Leech helps defend during the Golden Hawks' 1-0 victory over the Spartans Friday afternoon at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
El Dorado's Jacob Conlon, right, battles Villa Park's Andrew Becerra for the ball.

By Damian Dottore | ddottore@scng.com | Orange County Register

January 16, 2015 at 10:00 p.m.

Forced to play its leading goal scorer at center back,Servite’s offense wasn’t as productive as usual Friday.

But when a team is knocking them in at the rate the Friars have been, even on an off day the Friars managed their 12th multi-goal performance of the season.

“They are a juggernaut,” Santa Margarita coach Wade Fraser said. “They have been together for three years like that. They are one of the best high school teams I have ever seen.”

Thanks to second-half goals from Roman Manning and Michael Godinez, visiting Servite won for the ninth time in 10 matches, beating the No. 6 Eagles, 2-0, in a Trinity League match. During that span, the No. 1 Friars (13-2, 3-0) have outscored their opponents, 29-4.

“We are doing very well,” Servite coach Jon Spencer said. “We just have to keep them humble and keep working.”

The Friars were without center back Elijah Barajas, who drew a red card Wednesday and was forced to sit out Friday’s game. Garrett Amador, who leads the Friars with 14 goals, was moved to to center back against Santa Margarita (6-5-2, 0-2-1).

Amador is a defender for his club team, so although it took some of the bite out of the Friars’ attack up top, the move made sense.

Barajas’ foul on Wednesday gave the Braves a penalty kick, which led to the only goal Servite has given up in its three Trinity League games.

The Friars were more fortunate Friday, earning a shutout though the Eagles had no shortage of scoring chances.

The best scoring opportunity might have been the shot Jake Fisher fired across the field in the 64th minute. It grazed the far post as it sailed wide. That shot came 10 minutes after Fisher was staring at an open goal as he waited for the ball to come close enough to head in. But just as he was getting ready to take aim, Servite senior goalkeeper Keith Murphy leaped over Fisher’s back and grabbed the ball.

“We are creating chances,” Fraser said. “We just can’t finish them. But if we put forth that effort against the majority of the teams in our league, we get a result.”

In a nonleague game:

El Dorado 1, Villa Park 0: David Barran scored the winner in the 62nd minute for the visting Golden Hawks (3-7-2).

Contact the writer: ddottore@ocregister.com