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 Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
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.
It was a feeling of disappointment last time the Millikan boys’ soccer team walked off the field against Long Beach Poly—a game of missed opportunities that marked the Rams’ second straight draw to begin their Moore League slate.
But it couldn’t have been more of the opposite the second go-around on Monday night, in a game with huge implications for the final league standings. The Rams came into the matchup a point behind the Jackrabbits in the standings with an extra game in hand, and walked out a big step closer to a Moore League championship after capitalizing on their intensity in a 2-0 win.
“Our intensity has been better and our focus has been better, so I think that’s led to finishing chances that maybe weren’t going in earlier in the year,” said Millikan head coach Jeff Schofield. “After that last game we talked about what we needed to do, and I thought, well, we’re still creating chances. So if you’re continuing to create chances, eventually they’ll go in.”
Much of the first half mirrored the pair’s earlier matchup, with Millikan again the more active side while outshooting Poly 9-3 with a pair of corner kicks.
That pressure finally paid off in the 55th minute when Ethan Weinman cut inside from the left and forced a save from Poly goalkeeper Mekiah Twal, who followed with a kick save on a second effort from Rodrigo Macedo. The third chance proved to be the charm, as sophomore Dario Garcia slotted home the rebound to put the Rams ahead.
“We had plenty of shots in that first half, but we just couldn’t get any of them in,” Garcia said. “When I got subbed in, I just wanted to bring the energy up for all my teammates. We got the energy up and finally got one. As soon as I kicked it, I thought it was going to curl too wide, but I’m glad it hit the post and went in. I was super excited.”
Millikan spent the early going of the second half looking to double its lead before finding a goal five minutes into the half. After a Poly yellow card near the 30-yard line, a set piece was sent toward goal and ricocheted off the head of Grant Johnson. From there, junior Jesse Torres put away the second ball from the left side of the field into the far side of the goal.
“We wanted more energy and wanted to keep it going in the second half and got another one,” Garcia said. “It was a sigh of relief but as soon as Poly gets one, it changes the whole game. We knew we couldn’t stay comfortable and we had to keep going. We wanted more.”
Statistically, it was a less physical game than the Moore League boys’ soccer world has come to expect, with just a pair of yellow cards handed out between both teams in the second half. Millikan slightly edged Poly in the fouls category 34-12, however, 10 of Millikan’s fouls came in the second half, which helped Poly keep more of the possession.
That allowed the Jackrabbits to be on the front foot for a solid portion of the remainder of the match, as they strung together three shots in the final 30 minutes—all of which were on goal. Millikan’s Kirby Sheets handled anything inside the box and fittingly ended the night with a clean sheet.
“We started the second half ready to play normal and seeking that second goal. When we got it we started just managing a little bit,” Schofield said. “We had a couple guys who had some muscle injuries during the game so we were trying to manage them and had to shift some people around. We gave up some more chances but I felt like we still looked comfortable defensively.”
Millikan has now won six consecutive games and kept a clean sheet in four straight. The Rams have also scored multiple goals in every match since their scoreless draw against Poly in the first round and remain undefeated at 6-0-2. Millikan sits in first place with 20 points, two ahead of Poly, which has 18, and still holds an extra game in hand as the Rams close the season against Lakewood, Compton, and Cabrillo.
“When the first half [of Moore League play] ended, there were two teams that we didn’t beat, so the guys kind of took that as a badge of honor that we wanted to make sure we beat every team at some point,” Schofield said of the win. “The guys are really excited about it.”
The result serves as Poly’s first loss of the season, as the Jackrabbits fall to 5-1-3 with three games remaining. Poly will have a huge home matchup against Wilson next week before closing the season with matches against Jordan and Compton.
