The562’s soccer coverage for the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Beach Futbol Club.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Poly alum Jayon Brown and PlayFair Sports Management.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by JuJu Smith-Schuster and the JuJu Foundation.
For large stretches on Friday night, Long Beach Poly was in control of its second round playoff match against Claremont. Unfortunately for the home side, a set piece would prove to be their undoing as the visitors broke through off a corner kick in the 30th minute and held on for a 1-0 victory over the Jackrabbits.
“I thought we were the better team, I thought we played better tonight,” said Poly head coach Anthony Perez. “But at the end of the day, you can play the greatest game in the world, but if we don’t finish, you can’t win. And that was my message to the girls the whole year, you can have the best defense in the world, but that still just results in a tie game if you don’t put one in. At the end of the day, we just need to be a little more clinical on our finishing.”
Poly held an 11-6 edge in shots throughout the night, outshooting the Pack 7-2 in the second half while chasing the game. Sophomore Aaya McLyn had three shots for Poly, while Kyla Gomez, Kiara Van Deusen, and Lauryn Zwerner each had two.
Claremont came out in control to start the game, but Poly was able to settle in after the first 15 minutes. The Jackrabbits had some decent scoring chances in the first half, but it was Claremont that found a way to score.
The third corner kick of the night was a well-executed routine for the Pack as Alia Magallon lofted the ball back-post for Alanna Heem. Her shot off the volley was saved by Poly goalkeeper Kennedy Justin, as she popped the ball up onto the crossbar. However, the ball bounced back in front of goal where Claremont’s Isabella Salas was the first one to it, knocking the rebound through traffic and into the back of the net.
In the second half, Poly used its pace and physicality to have more possession on the Claremont half of the pitch, but the Pack did well to limit Poly’s quality chances. The Jackrabbits were only able to put one shot on target in the second half.
The Pack advances to next Tuesday’s CIF-SS Division 2 quarterfinal against Etiwanda.
