By Miguel A. Melendez
Staff Writer

DOWNEY – Cathedral Catholic’s Josh Cintas sat near midfield with his arms crossed over his knees.

He was looking down and his eyes were closed. He clearly looked dejected and had four reasons to be.

Two steps away, David Rios and Kian Chachi of the St. Francis boys soccer team jumped around as they waited for play to resume.

Cathedral Catholic didn’t need to wait for the final buzzer to go off.

This game, by all accounts, was all but over.

The second-seeded Golden Knights scored two goals in the first 10 minutes to cap a magical playoff run with a 4-2 win over the Dons to win the CIF Southern California Division II regional championship Saturday night at Warren.

St. Francis (18-6-5) got the fast start that eluded it throughout the CIF playoffs.

Eric Verso scored his 26th goal of the season and assisted on another. He gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead two minutes into the game and send the St. Francis faithful into a frenzy.

“He’s been fantastic,” St. Francis coach Glen Appels said. “The first goal was a great ball from (G.P. Gonzalez) but Brent (McCreary) let it go through and Verso, he’s so good in front of the goal, sent a left-footed (shot) in the side netting.

“Three guys there to make it happen. What a great way to start.”

Jake LaPorte gave St. Francis a cushion in the 10th minute when Verso’s initial shot glanced off a defender. LaPorte found the ball and scored.

“Unbelievable,” Appels said of the quick goals. “I told the guys if you told me we’d score four goals in a half I would have lost my house on that bet.”

The game was a physical one. The referee issued two red cards and three yellows, all to Cathedral Catholic (19-7-4), which was the CIF-San Diego Section Division III champion.

Dylan Stafford was issued the first red card in the 40th minute after a scuffle with several St. Francis players. The Dons struggled to muster any offense and it became even more difficult playing a man down the entire second half. And with less than a minute remaining, the Dons’ Thomas Justice was red-carded, too.

Frustration clearly had settled in.

“The game is the game, but when you see kids landing on their head I was honestly concerned about that,” Appels said. “I understand (Cathedral Catholic) are competitors and not used to being down four goals in a half.”

Amir Moore came off the bench again and played superbly. He scored in the 29th minute to give the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead. LaPorte scored his second goal in the 34th minute on an assist by Garrett Swart.

St. Francis keeper Jordan Bell also was outstanding. He made one jaw-dropping save after another and finished with seven saves.

“I’ve never felt anything like this,” Bell said. “I’ve won some awards with club but to have an atmosphere like this was a great game. This was absolutely a dream come true. I never would have guessed it.”

“As a whole defense I didn’t think we’ve had a meltdown of this kind all season,” Cathedral Catholic keeper Drew Illijevski said. “It’s kind of unfortunate that when we have a meltdown it’s in the state finals.”

miguel.melendez@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4485