Arlington boys soccer takes big fall against La Habra in Division 2 quarterfinals - Press-Enterprise

Arlington boys soccer takes big fall against La Habra in Division 2 quarterfinals - Press-Enterprise

• La Habra’s Dane Grassbaugh (#20) celebrates with teammates his winning goal against Arlington in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs in Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• La Habra’s Sebastian Romero (#5) takes a header trying to score against Arlington’s Carlos Zuniga in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• La Habra’s Sebastian Romero goes for a header against Arlington’s Samuel Hernandez and Jorge Velasco in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s Jonathan Lemus dribbles the ball guarded by La Habra’s Arnulfo Alatorre during the first half of a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• La Habra’s Gabriel Castillo consoles Arlington’s Carlos Zuniga after the game in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s Jonathan Lemus stops a kick by La Habra’s Aldo Ramirez during the second half in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s Fabian Franco fouls in the box to La Habra’s Tanner Coombs during the second half in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s goalie Oscar Saldana stops a penalty kick by La Habra’s Tanner Coombs in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• La Habra’s Ryan Morales dribbles the ball guarded by Arlington’s Isaac Hernandez in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s Jonathan Lemus controls the ball guarded by La Habra’s Arnulfo Alatorre in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s Ricardo Chazaro dribbles the ball guarded by La Habra’s Gabriel Castillo in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• La Habra’s players celebrate after winning a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs against Arlington on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• La Habra’s team poses for a photo after defeating Arlington 1-0 in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs in Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s Carlos Zuniga (#11) and La Habra’s Dane Grassbaugh go for a header during the first half in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• La Habra’s Tyler Porter and Arlington’s Juan Delgado battle for the ball in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• La Habra’s Coach Joel Carlisle celebrates after winning a quarterfinal match against Arlington during the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• La Habra’s Aldo Ramirez dribbles the ball guarded by Arlington’s Jose Garcia in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s Giovanni Ramos and La Habra’s Gabriel Castillo battle for the ball in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s Jonathan Lemus dribbles the ball guarded by La Habra’s Brady Hart in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• La Habra’s Sebastian Romero dribbles the ball guarded by Arlington’s Christian Suarez in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s Coach Kevin Watson gives instructions during a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs against La Habra on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s Jonathan Lemus dribbles the ball guarded by La Habra’s Gabriel Castillo in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s Fabian Franco goes for a header over La Habra’s Tanner Coombs in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

• Arlington’s Jorge Velasco, Isaac Hernandez and La Habra’s Dane Grassbaugh go for a header in a quarterfinal match of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer playoffs on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

RIVERSIDE >> Margins are slim at the top, and height can be a difference-maker.

Matched against a taller team, player for player, the Arlington boys soccer team was unable to defend a second-half set piece and lost to La Habra 1-0 on Tuesday in a CIF Southern Section Division 2 quarterfinal game.

“It’s bitter, but this is sports,” Arlington coach Kevin Watson said. “We just made one mistake. That’s the playoffs.”

The Highlanders will be at home against Channel Islands in the semifinals on Saturday.

Ricardo Chazaro, Isaac Hernandez and Jose Garcia had precious few scoring opportunities, and Arlington (17-3-2 overall), the defending CIF-SS Division 2 champion, could not find an equalizer while losing for the first time in 12 games.

“We had a good scouting report. We knew they were big, direct and their center forwards were strong and made long throws, and we just made one mistake and they punished us,” Watson said.

Dane Grassbaugh got his head on a long throw-in to score the winning goal in the 56th minute for La Habra (18-6-4 overall), which moves on to the CIF-SS semifinals for the third consecutive season. It was Grassbaugh’s fifth goal this season.

“We know all about Arlington so we said, ‘Hey, this is what we do. We’re going to play our game (and) we’re going to use our height,’” La Habra coach Joel Carlisle said.

Arlington goalkeeper Oscar Saldana saved a penalty kick attempt in the 66th minute to keep the Lions in the game, but La Habra’s physicality took its toll.

“These guys are motivated to try to get to the finals, and they’re feeling pretty good,” Carlisle said. “To go on the road and get a win against (Arlington) is tremendous.”

Arlington was aiming for its third consecutive trip to the CIF-SS semifinals after Garcia set up Hernandez for the winning goal in overtime in a 2-1 second-round victory over Warren last week.

“Can’t take anything away from my group of seniors or what they’ve done over these last four years, cementing ourselves and setting a true foundation of what a high school program can do,” Watson said.

Arlington had its best scoring attempt pushed aside in the 15th minute when Chazaro’s free kick was saved by La Habra goalkeeper Abel Avalos, and the Highlanders consistently put eight or nine behind the ball in defense.

“It’s a tricky game. The way La Habra is built is the direct opposite of us,” Watson said. “It was just a matter of us playing between the lines a little bit more, but when we got caught playing their style it was very difficult.”

La Habra mounted pressure in the second half, and nearly scored four minutes before the breakthrough goal on a similar throw-in play that ended with a header over the bar.

2020-02-19 05:14:00Z
https://www.pe.com/2020/02/18/arlington-boys-soccer-takes-big-fall-against-la-habra-in-division-2-quarterfinals/

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