Irvine Valley Falls to Mt San Antonio

Fifth-seed Lasers fall to top-seeded Mt. San Antonio, 3-2

The Irvine Valley men's soccer team's season ended in the same game it did a year earlier  in a Southern California RegionalPlayoff Final  one step from the state tournament.
The fifth-seeded Lasers fell to top-seeded Mt. San Antonio, 3-2, on Saturday at Mt. SAC. Mt. SAC, which remained unbeaten on the year (21-0-2), advanced to represent Southern California along with Santa Ana in the state championships next weekend in Fresno.
IVC ended the year with a record of 15-5-4 overall. The loss on Saturday was the Lasers' first since it fell to Santa Ana, 3-1, on Oct. 12. IVC had been 8-2-0 in its last 10 games heading into the regional final.
"I thought the boys worked very hard today and kept fighting," IVC Coach Martin McGrogan said. "They have nothing to be ashamed of."
The Mounties threatened right from the start, creating chances from all over the field.
IVC defender Christian Correa-Henschke had to clear a ball from going in with a diving header in the third minute.
Mt. SAC got on the board a couple of minutes later when Cameron Sims found the back of the net with a diving header.
IVC goalie Mikhail Radchuk made a save on a shot by Aaron Salazar at close range and Mt. SAC hit the post with another shot in the opening 20 minutes.
In the 22nd minute, Mt. SAC made it a 2-0 game when Karlos Gonzalez scored off a nice pass from Gabriel Tinoco.
But the Lasers didn't give in. IVC freshman forward Ashley Cattermole was taken down in the box in the 37th minute and freshman midfielder Jack Plummer converted the penalty kick to the right side of the goal to make it a 2-1 game.
Mt. SAC went ahead, 3-1, with another goal by Gonzalez four minutes into the second half.
In the 56th minute, Mt. SAC's Alfonso Ayala hit the post with a shot.
Most of the rest of the second half was played in the midfield with neither team having any solid opportunities to score.
IVC pushed forward in the final 10 minutes came within a goal when Plummer got a hold of a loose ball in the box and scored with just three minutes left. But the game ended soon after, 3-2.
"They were a very good team, but as good as they were, we weren't happy with the goals we gave up," McGrogan said. "We made a couple of mistakes. That being said we wish them luck as they move on.
"I am still very proud of our guys," McGrogan added. "We have a lot of young people on this team with great things ahead of them."
IVC will lose sophomores Correa-Henscke, Mark Shadrack, Darren Whitty, Erik Van Der Meulen, Scott Gressard, Taylor Campbell, Caleb Hart and Beau Campbell.
Those eight players helped IVC have a record of 29-9-8 over the last two seasons, win three playoff games and reach the regional finals twice.
"Don't be disappointed in yourselves," IVC assistant coach Shaun Harris told the players after the game. "We were playing our best soccer at the end of the season and that is what you want. We didn't get the result we wanted today, but we still had a great season."