Vikes' Lukas Keeling makes it a hat trick in the
first seven minutes of play with this left-footer at
close range on the Mt. Miguel goal.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
Lukas Keeling let forth a blast of three goals within a handful of minutes to open the game, and La Jolla hung on to defeat Mt. Miguel 4-2 in its last game of pool play in the Coronado Soccer Invitational Sat., Dec. 6.
It was as if all the Vikings' frustrations after two tough losses to Open Division playoff teams to open the season were focused in the midfielder's barrage, which began with a goal in the third minute of play and ended moments later in the sixth minute of play. At that point, Coach Marcos Gonzales pulled Keeling out to give his teammates an opportunity to score.
Gonzales had told his players before the game that he wanted to see shots on goal. They took him to heart early on.
But after Keeling's instant hat trick, the La Jolla scoring well went dry. Still, Gonzales was pleased after not seeing his team score in the opening period in their previous games against CIF powers Poway and Hilltop, praising his players with "Good activity" several times.
Keeling's third goal was a classic soft nudge from close range, as he lifted the ball with his left foot over the Matador goalie's left shoulder and into the goal. The score demonstrates that deftness often involves precision rather than brute force of blasting the ball, in which the case the ball would have soared over the goal or slammed into the goalie's body.
Each of the goals came off the midfielder's hot left foot. The first one skimmed by the goalie on his right side, the second to his left into the corner of the net. Keeling, not demonstrative in his reaction to his flurry of goals, had a wry grin on his face as he took an early spot on the bench. Gonzales only reinserted him late in the game when Mount Miguel threatened.
The Vikings, following a halftime breather and re-marshaling of energies, came right out and scored again in the person of Andrew Estrella in the opening minutes of the second half to put LJHS up 4-0. They had not led in a game yet this young season, and now they led by a whopping four goals.
But by the midpoint of the second period, momentum had shifted as Gonzales made several substitutions to give most of the roster substantial playing time. Mt. Miguel, already angry over going down so quickly 3-0 in the first half, channeled that ire into two goals and trailed only 4-2 with eight minutes remaining in regulation time. Faces formerly smiling on the La Jolla sidelines became grimmer as the game tightened up with the real possibility that Mt. Miguel could come back.
Both teams each had lost both their previous games in pool play, so this was a chance to end the preliminary phase of the annual Coronado tournament with at least one win. La Jolla players discussed the fact that had they gotten out with a tie against either Poway or Hilltop, they would have had a chance to advance to the winners bracket with a win against Mt. Miguel.
La Jolla held on, and took its first win under Gonzales at the helm. The first-year varsity coach had seen his team start well in this game, so now they need to put together a good start with a good finish.
Copyright 2014 Ed Piper
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