Rea, Lincoln finish in tie

Rick Devereux

Field four at the Costa Mesa Farm Sports Complex might have sloped

slightly toward the Lincoln sidelines, but the play between the

Leopards and Rea was as even as a carpenter’s level Thursday during

the boys third- and fourth-grade gold division game, which ended in a

1-1 tie.

J.D. Dawn for Lincoln sneaked behind the Shark defense and shot a

crossing ball that ended up inside the right goal post early in the

first half.

“I think our kids were a little nervous at the beginning,” Rea

Coach Ryan Baker said. “We played a little tight and that first goal

showed it.”

The Sharks regrouped immediately and pressed the ball. Forward

Carlos Moreno stole a Lincoln throw-in and ran down the left side

unopposed, but a save by Leopard goaltender Andrew McCormack kept Rea

off the scoreboard.

Unswayed, Moreno pressed again and fired a shot that ricocheted

off Lincoln defenders and ended up on the foot of Angel Robles, who

dribbled the ball into the open net for the tying goal.

The Leopards pushed for a go-ahead goal in the second half, but

Rea goaltender Rudy Reyes made several dramatic saves, some diving to

his right, some punching the ball out of harms way to his left.

Lincoln forward Carter Keddington pushed the ball up the right

side, dribbled inside the penalty box and rifled off a shot, but

Reyes emerged again for the save.

The Sharks had a few opportunities to pressure Lincoln, but

McCormack and the defense stopped any threats.

“To walk away from [Rea] with a tie in the qualifying round is a

nice accomplishment,” Lincoln Coach Alex Francini said. He told his

team after the game that the two squads “will probably meet in the

next round.”

Rea, who has won two of the last three tournaments, was expecting

a close game.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game,” Baker said. “But we

know that if we play hard and like we know we can, we can beat

anybody.”

Lincoln battles Newport Heights today at 5:30 p.m. and needs a win

to advance to the next round because Rea opened up pool play Tuesday

with an 8-0 victory.

But Francini was inspired after Thursday’s tie against Rea.

“What a great game,” he said. “It was exciting to watch and very

high intensity back and forth.”