Larkin, Dundee-Crown battle to 1-1 tie

In a month Larkin boys soccer Ken Hall hopes a game such as Monday will end with a more favorable result.

But right now with such a young team, Hall will accept a 1-1 tie with Dundee-Crown.

"We had our chances," Hall said. "It's a little bit of the inexperience. At the end of the game we had four freshmen and three sophomores on the field and we we're putting all the pressure on them."

The Royals (0-2-2) had several good scoring opportunities, but just couldn't find a way to the ball past Chargers goalkeeper Edit Fuentes. The only Larkin goal came on a Danny Ramirez penalty kick with 23 minutes left in the second half after Erik Rodriguez was taken down in the penalty area.

Larkin made Fuentes make 3 saves, but had shots hit of the crossbar and go just wide or over. There were other opportunities when the Royals' final touch was just too far and couldn't get a shot off.

"We have to get better at finishing our touches," said Ramirez, a sophomore. "Throughout the season, we'll get better."

D-C (2-2-1) took a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute. Jesus Ramirez was dribbling down the right side and cut a pass to the left. Kyle Hagan then put a shot to the far post, past Royals goalkeeper Omar Hernandez, who had to make just 1 save.

"A little bit a lack of offense," Chargers coach Rey Vargas said. "We haven't practiced in over a week and a half. We get back at it (today) and get some practice and hopefully get that figured out."

The Chargers had only one good scoring opportunity after their goal. That chance game with 11 minutes left in the game as Mike Pagan's header went just wide.

Larkin pressed most of the second half. Tony Hernandez hit the crossbar with a right-footed blast with 31 1/2 minutes left. The Royals had an opportunity with Fuentes out of goal with 19:30 remaining, but despite several passes to open players couldn't get a shot off.

"We're just looking right now in the first half of the season just to get some consistency," Hall said. "Hopefully we can put a little bit more together in the second half and those balls will be going into the back of the net."