Lincoln's Second Half Surge Fells Venice High

The Venice boys soccer team was flying high going into the playoffs after winning three straight games, but they were quickly grounded by a high-powered Lincoln squad. Lincoln netted three second-half goals on their way to a 5-2 victory over Venice.

“It was tough today. We were without a key player Brian Loreto (grades).  He is a very tall player so we look for him on a lot of set pieces. Also, he’s a key defender, and at times, our guys looked lost out there,” said coach Martin Zarate.

It didn’t take long for Lincoln to get on the board. Lincoln striker Jose Luis Garcia was able to slip by Venice keeper Gustavo Mendez on a breakaway, and easily put a shot home to take a 1-0 lead.

Venice continued to control the ball for much of the first half, and it wasn’t long before they put the equalizer up. The Gondos broke away on a 2 on 1, and they played it perfectly. A pass got through to senior Armin Gordian, who easily put home a shot to tie the game back up at 1-1.

Just 30 seconds before the half ended, Lincoln delivered a huge blow to the Gondos. On a free kick, the ball was kicked around in the box, before falling to the feet of Fidel Ortiz, who rocketed a shot home giving Lincoln a 2-1 lead seconds before halftime.

“Usually, when we give up goals it is because of passing mistakes we made, but that wasn’t’ the case today,” Zarate said.  “We just couldn’t stop their set pieces for whatever reason. They were always able to one-up us on those all game.

The Gondos came out and continued to fight in the second half. After forcing a free kick, the ball was kicked around the box for a while before Christian Lazaro put home yet another equalizer, making it 2-2.

Unfortunately, as was the case all game long, the Gondos once again gave up the lead, this time for good. Following a defensive error, Lincoln midfielder Martin Navarro broke free and put home an easy shot, making it 3-2. It was a sign of things to come for the Tigers.

 It was on yet another set piece that Lincoln notched their fourth goal. This time it was off a corner kick, where Ortiz scored his second goal of the game on a perfect header. That goal put the score at 4-2, and broke the Gondos back.

“There were a few times that Gustavo was a bit too aggressive and the Lincoln players were able to get past him. But I’d much rather he be too aggressive rather than not aggressive enough. He did his best and I can’t ask for much more than that,” Zarate said of his keepers play.

The fifth and final goal came after quite a bizarre sequence. Lincoln was awarded a penalty kick after a Venice defender blocked a shot with his hand. Mendez was able to stop the penalty kick, but forward Raul Martinez scored on the ensuing corner kick, making it 5-2, which was the final score.

“Losing all our seniors is going to be tough, but I run a fairly simple system, and I have confidence that the guys on the JV squad will be able to step in and pick it up pretty easily,” said Zarate.

The loss means the end of the season for Venice, with a final record of 7-4-4. Even though he was disappointed, Zarate said that the season was a roller coaster with one particular high point.

“I thought we were the best third place team of any league, and I thought we could have been seeded higher. The season was very up and down, but getting the win at Palisades was just great. No one will be able to take that away from us.”