With seniors lost, Lighthouse soccer hasn't lost its way

It lost its star seniors, its star foreigners, its promising future stars who lost interest, but Lighthouse Christian Academy didn't lose Tuesday in its opening game against Highland Hall with a scrappy 3-2 victory.

The Saints went down 0-1 in the first half when a freshman left back fell into the trap of drifting into the center field and left his man unmarked. It was a howler of a defensive lapse.

But Lighthouse came out in the second half hungry. Sophomore Ethan Zerihun did some handy and hard work to recover a ball outside the area, juke a Highland Hall defender and pass out wide to junior Hosea Ashcraft, who passed to junior Marcus Scribner to slot low on the far post.

Not long after, sophomore Mosie Bowen took a beating in the area to earn a penalty kick. Ashcraft didn't squander the opportunity.

Scribner put his muscles to good use vying for the ball to make it 3-1.

An unintentional handball in the Saints box awarded a penalty kick to Highland, bringing the tally to 3-2 where it stayed until the final whistle.

The Saints went undefeated the CIF Omega League last season with a team powered by a Turkish senior and a Japanese senior. Erhan Meric had speed and touch, while Shun Fukushigi shot masterful free kicks. Erhan graduated and returned to Turkey for college; Shun ended his study in America and returned to Japan.

Lighthouse hoped to bank on the speed of Levi Photenhauer, but the junior decided to get a job instead of playing soccer this season.

Despite these and other significant losses, still there is a crop of decent players willing to learn, and new coach Junior Cervantes -- who as a midfielder just led Santa Monica College into quarter finals for the first time ever -- have their sights on glory.

Pictured: Marcus fires home for a goal, Hosea scores a PK.

Full Disclosure Note: Hosea Ashcraft is the son of this reporter.