BOYS’ SOCCER ROUNDUP : Katella Victory Puts El Dorado on Hold

As if facing a must-win situation against the El Dorado High School boys’ soccer team wasn’t enough incentive for Katella Wednesday in Anaheim, the revenge factor also figured prominently in the Knights’ 2-0 Empire League victory.

Smarting from a 4-1 loss to the Golden Hawks in the first round, Katella spent the first half pounding away at El Dorado goalkeeper Blayne Leitner to take a 2-0 lead, which stood up for the remainder of the game.

“We wanted to kill them. They killed us the last time,” said Katella midfielder Armando Orizaba, who had two assists. “There was a little pressure on us because if they won, they would have won league.”

El Dorado (12-7-3, 6-2-1 in league) can still win the championship Friday when it plays host to Los Alamitos. Katella (14-3-4, 5-1-3) must win on the road at Esperanza and get help from the Griffins if it is to take the title.

Katella took a 1-0 lead with 24 minutes left in the half when Jose Figueroa took Orizaba’s free kick in front of the goalkeeper’s box and kicked the ball past Leitner.

“I saw they had their backs to the ball and passed it to Jose and he just scored it,” Orizaba said.

Bernardo Rios scored the second goal on an assist from Orizaba with 10 minutes remaining in the half.

The game was Katella’s fifth consecutive shutout since goalkeeper Justin Welham was elevated from the junior varsity, but Welham only had to make two saves during the game, while Leitner had six.

“We were embarrassed last time,” Katella Coach Ray Smith said. “When we play good soccer, we’re tough to beat.”