Millikan definitely had their chances to break their scoreless tie on the road against Poly—three times the ball rolled across the goalmouth, without a successful Ram follow, and they forced Poly’s sophomore goalie, Luis Chavez, to make twelve saves.  But make them he did, as the strong Poly defense didn’t break in a 0-0 tie that brings Millikan to 3-0-2 in league (tied with 4-0 Wilson for first place), and lifts Poly to 1-2-1, with the win and the tie against Millikan and Cabrillo.

“Sometimes you need a little luck,” said Millikan coach Rod Petkovic after the game, “and sometimes you just don’t get it.”  Dominating whistled free kicks and midfield play, the Rams got their first great chance on a Robert Burgos cross that rolled slowly across the goal with no cleanup.  It happened again twice after the intermission, and they had three more good looks in the second half, the final a Burgos free kick in range just before the game ended, which Chavez punched up and then caught.

If there was a standout player in the tie, it was Chavez, who kept the twine clean using just about every trick in the goalie’s book.  He punched balls high, he went up and caught balls, he came out of the goal to kick a ball away outside the box when a Ram broke through the back line, and he dove headfirst to bat a ball away on the ground.  He even employed luck, as he was on the good side of Millikan’s bad luck on the un-followed crosses.

“From the first game he’s progressing,” said Poly coach Efren Garcia, who’s very happy to have Chavez back for the next tow years.  “He’s shut out Cabrillo and Millikan now.”  Garcia also praised his back line, particularly Robert Dominguez, for their efforts in limiting Millikan’s chances.

Poly wasn’t without their shots as well, most notably a cross from Tanner Padian to Connor Parkin, which gave Parkin an open shot just outside the box midway through the first half.  Parkin’s shot was high of the mark, clanking off the crossbar and bouncing over the goal.  The Rabbits spent most of the second half defending their own goal, opting to play defense more than pressing for a score.

“We built the back line first,” said Garcia.  “Hopefully we can move up to the front for the second round.”

While there was no doubt Poly was happier with the tie than Millikan was, Petkovic maintained it wasn’t a negative for his team.  “A tie doesn’t hurt on the road,” he said, “it hurts you at home.”  It was Millikan’s 13th shutout of the season, as Jorge Becerra kept his goal empty as well.

Millikan will have a bye next Wednesday before traveling to Wilson in a game for first place next Friday, while Poly will visit Compton on Wednesday at 3pm.

Come back tomorrow for a full league standings box!