Four goals from African born freshman as Lighthouse cruises

Once he was starving. On Tuesday, he was feasting.

Moses Bowen, adopted by missionaries when he was a starving newborn, dined on four sumptuous goals in the first half of Lighthouse Christian Academy's soccer victory over Highland Hall Waldorf School.

When the tsunami of blue jerseys was over, LCA closed its sixth-straight win -- an undefeated season so far -- with a resounding 5-0 at Balboa Lake Sports Complex.

Coach Jack Mefford actually took Moses off the field at half to release pressure on Highland Hall.

Four goals.

In soccer, scoring three is an extraordinary feat known as a hat trick. Four is unheard of.

And there's one more troubling fact -- troubling for the competitors in the league.

Moses is a freshman.

Yes, that means he'll be making defenders' knees tremble for three more years.

In the Bible, Moses opened the Red Sea. Yesterday, he opened the path among defenders.

His friends call him Mosie, a name rhyme with his twin brother Josie (Joshua).

When they were born, their mother died, and their father couldn't take care of them -- or any other relative.

They were starving on a diet of rice with no milk. Such is poverty in The Gambia of West Africa.

Ralph and Brenda Bowen, now on staff at Lighthouse schools, were missionaries at the time battling big spiders and crippling malaria while bringing the Good News to the huddling masses.

They were already into their third church plant, this time in Senegal. The Gambia was the former stomping grounds.

So when the Bowens heard the case of some unwanted boys who were going to die, their hearts rent and their legs running. They drove across international borders and adopted the twins. Brenda Bowen painstakingly nursed them to health.

Well, they're healthy now.

While Josie was blunting attacks on defense, Mosie was up front sharpening his knives.

Mosie showed all blood-thirstiness of a born predator.

Lighthouse's winning streak is an anomaly.

With historically low enrollments, the Saints usually lack the talent pool to form winning teams.

But something happened this year. It was the foreign factor.

This year, an unexpected combination of missionaries' kids, of parachute students and of foreign-exposed students brought the soccer of the world to Lighthouse.

And simply put, the Saints have too many technically skilled players in too many positions on the field.

But will dominance continue?

As the Saints cruise to league championship, some observers are already bemoaning next year. With some gifted players graduating, they expect a tumble in the standings.

But then there's Mosie -- a freshman. He and his brother form the future of soccer at our West Los Angeles Christian school.

None would wager on Lighthouse this year, so don't count it out next.

Pictured from left to right: Moses Bowen, Howon Chun and Bryan Gutierrez. Video highlights high school soccer Santa Monica.

Read about how our Japanese student in Santa Monica won for us the victory.