DIVISION IV BOYS’ SOCCER : La Habra Loses Momentum, Game to El Monte
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EL MONTE — The La Habra boys’ soccer team lost to El Monte, 4-1, in a Southern Section Division IV semifinal game Thursday at El Monte High.
La Habra (18-6-1) scored seven minutes into the game. Brendan Malm passed the ball to John Mendrin, who kicked it in from the top of the penalty box.
The Lions, Mission Valley League champions for the past five years, recovered by scoring four minutes later. Alex Lemus headed the ball toward the middle of the goal, and Juan Sedano kicked it in.
The Highlanders, making their first appearance in postseason play, never regained their momentum, allowing El Monte (23-0-2) to score two more goals before the half--one on a penalty kick by Limas, and the other when Sedano guided in Felipe Rodriguez’s corner kick over diving goalie Javier Flores.
“We had a little more heart than they did at the beginning, but we weren’t consistent with our aggressive play, that’s why we lost the game,” said La Habra Coach Mario Munoz, who is in his first year.
Unlike the first half, when El Monte outshot La Habra, 8-2, the ball spent time near both goals in the second half. But by the end of the game, the out-manned and ill-matched Highlanders wore the dogged expressions of men trying to stave off the inevitable.
Sedano scored his third goal from about 20 yards, on a pass from Cesar Jimenez with two minutes left.
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