Larkin outlasts D-C 4-2

A misunderstanding at the start of Monday afternoon's boys soccer game left Larkin without proper time to warm up.

It didn't seem to matter much to the Royals, though, as they scored a pair of goals in the first 10 minutes, 33 seconds of the game. The early offensive attack allowed the Royals (2-0) to fend off a pair of comebacks from host Dundee-Crown and take the nonconference contest 4-2.

Larkin had originally thought the game was a 6:30 p.m. start, when in fact start time was scheduled for 4:30. By the time the teams had worked things out, play began at 5:30.

The scoring came shortly thereafter.

"We had tons of chances in the first 10-15 minutes," Larkin coach Ken Hall said. "We really didn't get a warmup."

Goalkeeper Raziel Somarriba's long drop kick allowed enough for forward Raul Sandoval. Sandoval got past the defense to put the Royals up 1-0 just 1:26 into play. After a pair of near misses, David Rodriguez took an assist from Sandoval to score his first of 2 goals with 29:27 left in the first half, putting Larkin up 2-0.

The extended wait did not do any favors for the Chargers.

"It takes away," Dundee-Crown coach Rey Vargas said. "You're all pumped up and you have to sit here and wait for an hour."

Despite the early offensive fury, it was Tony Feliciano's header with 21:37 remaining which really sealed the deal for the Royals. Feliciano's goal, assisted by Nestor Almanza, put Larkin up by its final 4-2 margin. It also took back some of the momentum the Chargers (1-1) had built just moments earlier.

Ryan Merkel (Eddie Bernal) brought the Chargers back to within a goal for the second time of the afternoon after hitting a shot past Somarriba (6 saves).

Dundee-Crown cut the lead to 2-1 with 2:19 left in the first half as Wyatt Vucic (Austin Tanner assist) scored.

Rodriguez put the Royals up 3-1 with 28:34 left in the game after taking a pass from Edgar Mondragon. The Chargers responded when Merkel scored with 24:47 remaining.

"We would score, then they would score. We would score, then they would score," Rodriguez said, "until we put them away with that fourth goal."

Even though the Royals nabbed a pair of goals early, things could have become a lot more one-sided. Larkin missed back-to-back scoring opportunities 5 minutes into the game. Both shots were deflected -- one by the crossbar and one by Dundee-Crown goalkeeper Mike Zozokos (8 saves).

"The last 15 minutes of the first half, we were really unhappy," Hall said. "We need to get killer instinct and put teams away early."