The562’s high school soccer coverage for the 2025-26 season is sponsored by Long Beach Poly soccer alum Kennedy Justin.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Former Jackrabbits Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
It was an odd feeling for both Millikan and Long Beach Poly as they walked off the field after their Moore League boys’ soccer matchup Wednesday night.
For Millikan, the Rams were left disappointed in their inability to take advantage of opportunities at the goal, a familiar feeling after a season-opening draw against Wilson last week. On the other end, a night of injuries plagued what was otherwise a huge defensive effort for Long Beach Poly at home.
Ultimately, the Jackrabbits were able to walk away at ease, minimizing any damage from a potent Millikan offense by holding off the Rams to earn a scoreless draw.
“We always want the win, but at the end of the day this is the Moore League, and every game is going to be like this,” said Poly coach Carlos Casillas. “We know what to expect in these league matchups. As much as we wanted the win, we’ll take the 0-0 draw, move on, and try to build on it.”
The visitors heavily outshot the Jackrabbits for the match and had four corner kicks to just one for Poly. Millikan was by far the more physical team, doubling the Jackrabbits in fouls, but none of those advantages turned into goals for the Rams.
“I thought we had significantly more opportunities, but that’s the way it goes,” said Millikan head coach Jeff Schofield. “It’s the second straight game where we’ve had more chances and haven’t been able to put them away. That part is a little bit frustrating, but it’s also a positive that we’ve been able to create chances—so you can look at it one of two ways.”
Credit can go to Poly goalkeeper Mekiah Twal, who was kept busy all night against Millikan’s attack. The junior kept a clean sheet while racking up a half dozen saves and swallowed up a handful of shots and corner kicks in the final 20 minutes to help secure the draw for his team.
“First off, I just have to give some praise to my defense,” Twal said. “It’s just confidence as a team to come out and be ready for anything that is coming our way. Millikan wasn’t playing for a tie and neither were we, so I just had to stay on my toes.”
Millikan found its opportunities early and often, including a pair of first-half shots from both Vonnae Ocegueda and Ivan Cervantes Vega. Vega had a quality look down the middle in the 17th minute, followed by another close opportunity off Millikan’s only corner kick of the half. The Rams then had a shot split wide off the head of Grant Johnson in the 31st minute.
The Rams had two of their three second-half corner kicks in the final minutes of the game, including one from Pablo Lica that sailed off the head of a Poly defender. Lica had another corner kick just moments later, which ricocheted to the feet of Jesse Torres for a shot from 10 yards out, but Poly was able to get a foot on it to avoid any damage.
Regarding those scoring opportunities, Schofield said it’s up to his team to work through the frustration that comes with a lack of production, noting that he’s seen enough on the field to know they’re more than capable of finding a rhythm on offense.
“If you’re not creating chances then you have to do something different, but our two guys up front scored a bunch of goals earlier in the year,” he said. “We know they have the ability to do that, and we just have to keep training it and building confidence. It’s one of those things where once the first one goes in, we’ll get some momentum going.”
Poly’s handful of chances at breaking the scoreboard came around the midway point of the game, but the Jackrabbits were forced to play shorthanded after having a pair of players carted off the field with injury.
“Unfortunately, those injuries took a couple of our players off the field that bring a little extra to the team, so we had to play it a little more defensively,” Casillas said. “We got a little bit healthier towards the end, which helped a little bit, but honestly we just need to get healthy. It’s been big injuries that we’ve been dealing with, and it’s made a difference.”
In the meantime, guys like Twal have assured the team that it’ll be a collective effort on both sides of the ball.
“We’re a team and we’re a family, and if our offense isn’t producing then that means our defense will step up until they can,” Twal said. “We’re one unit and we play together.”
The Jackrabbits will be back in action at Wilson on Friday, while Millikan will be hosting Jordan.
