BOYS’ SOCCER ROUNDUP : Fountain Valley Wins Showdown With Edison

Edison Coach Trent Marcus was diplomatic, but it was clear he would have rather seen Wednesday’s Sunset League first-place boys’ soccer showdown with Fountain Valley decided by the players--not a referee’s whistle.

“One penalty is not going to make a difference in an 80-minute game, but it can certainly turn the tide,” Marcus said after his team was beaten by Fountain Valley, 2-0, at Edison High. “It had an impact.”

The penalty occurred 55 minutes into a scoreless tie and some 15 yards from the Edison goal. Fountain Valley’s Keith Hedenberg was taken down as he maneuvered to get in position to shoot. Joey Bove’s penalty kick was saved by Edison keeper Chris Shay, but Adam Novak was there to kick the rebound past Shay.

Said Fountain Valley Coach Kevin Smith: “I honestly didn’t see it. I’m just glad we scored after that so nobody could say, ‘What if.’ ”

But Marcus said forward Joey Vasquez’s goal 16 minutes later might not have been scored had the circumstances been different.

“The second goal was my doing,” Marcus said. “I had to sacrifice my defense for offense once they got that goal.”

Third-ranked Edison (12-4-4, 5-2) will likely lose the Sunset League title and the top seeding in the Division I playoffs to Fountain Valley (16-3, 6-1). If the second-ranked Barons can win their last three games--against Marina, Los Alamitos and Esperanza--they will win the Sunset League championship and enter the playoffs seeded first.

“A tie would have been OK, but a win was great,” Smith said. “We can control our own destiny now.”

Except for the first 15 minutes, Fountain Valley controlled much of the game. The Barons outshot the Chargers, 12-5, and won most of the balls at midfield.