By Ed Piper, Jr.
Four different Vikings scored as La Jolla pacified visiting Castle Park, 4-0, despite having multiple goals called back on a cold night at Edwards Stadium Thurs., Dec. 8, 2016.
The quartet--Marco Furlanis and Lukas Keeling in the first half, Andrew Estrella and Luis Goehler in the second--all figure to be major playmakers during this, La Jolla's first season after a CIF championship.
What was curious about the Vikings' title in March was that the team finished the season with a losing record, 7-9-3. That shows the necessity, in the more compact San Diego Section of the state-wide scholastic organization, of a lower division team like La Jolla playing teams in higher divisions to fill its schedule.
This season, begun with four straight wins, could be different. Coach Marcos Gonzales' squad may very well get over the hump with more wins than losses, a first over the last couple of years.
The Vikings feature club team veterans at most positions, which means the cream of the crop in talent refined by specialized coaching and competitive experience at a high level. Plus Keeling, who acts as a cool, calm center dishing the ball to teammates around him, gained invaluable training on the U.S. Academy team last year.
Goalkeeper Tai Nguyen, playing in his second game of the season after sitting out due to a concussion protocol, recorded his first clean sheet of the young year.
Grant Wagner, a sophomore defender, made his varsity debut following club team participation.
Furlanis, a junior captain, broke the stalemate with his goal 10 minutes into the game. A header by Max Leonard went over the crossbar four minutes later.
Then, with minutes left in the opening half, Keeling drilled a bullet in from right in front of the goal, 18 yards out. The half ended, 2-0.
Estrella, a leading scorer on the team, then pounded his shot into goal in the eighth minute of the second half, as Castle Park visibly began to wear down and break down.
The rout was on with Goehler's score a little over five minutes later. He drove to the left of the goal, then powered a right-footer in.
Another goal was called back when Estrella and Goehler passed the ball between themselves, an offsides whistle resulting.
On yet another attempt, Goehler drove one-on-one furiously before plowing his kick right into the alert goalie, who was determined to limit further damage. Luis, a 17-year-old junior who recently moved here from his native Germany, put both hands on his head in shock. The La Jolla bench was getting into the act by then, whooping and hollering at the near-miss.
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