LONG BEACH – The Long Beach Poly boys soccer team held on for a 2-1 win over rival Wilson on Friday at Wilson High School.
Carlos Casillas and Salvador Alfaro each scored for Poly (4-6-3, 1-0-2) with Roger Juarez and Daniel Silva contributing assists. Goalkeeper Mekiah Twal stopped five of six shots by Wilson (3-6-5, 2-1-1).
Long Beach Poly’s Mekiah Twal (1) stops the goal attempt from Wilson’s Manny Alonso (10) in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Roger Juarez (21) looks to keep the ball from Wilson’s Rachunna Chem (17) in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Diego Castro (27) battle Long Beach Poly’s Carlos Casillas (18) for the ball in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Joseph Lemus (12) keeps the ball from Wilson’s Rachunna Chem (17) in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Diego Garrido (2) kicks the ball away from Long Beach Poly’s Carlos Casillas (18) in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Casey Pettyjohn (9) kicks the ball away from Long Beach Poly’s Carlos Casillas (18) in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Diego Garrido (2) kicks the ball down field as the Bruins take on Long Beach Poly in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Casey Pettyjohn (9) keeps the ball from Long Beach Poly’s Marcel Markaryan (19) in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Joseph Lemus (12) keeps the ball from Wilson’s Rachunna Chem (17) in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Jonah Gershenson (16) heads the ball away from Wilson’s Ethan Gutierrez (11) in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Matthew Sanchez (10) pushes the ball past Wilson’s Yair Gonzalez (77) in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Noah Baleto (23) tries to keep the ball from Long Beach Poly’s Roger Juarez (21) in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Show Caption
1 of 12
Long Beach Poly’s Mekiah Twal (1) stops the goal attempt from Wilson’s Manny Alonso (10) in Long Beach, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Poly coach Carlos Casillas saw his team fight through injuries to earn the win.
“It’s a big game. It’s always a big game,” Casillas said. “Winning here is always big. We had a hard week. To finish off the week with a W here at Wilson, it was big.”
Lio Rodriguez scored for Wilson on an assist from Ethan Gutierrez.
Wilson keeper Angel Ramirez turned aside five of seven Poly shots.
The Jackrabbits broke the scoreless tie in the 16th minute when a throw-in from Juarez found the foot of Casillas. Casillas launched a shot from the right of Ramirez, near the elbow of the 18-yard-box, that skittered past the diving Wilson keeper for a 1-0 lead.
Poly doubled its lead in the 28th minute when Silva took a give-and-go pass down the Wilson sideline to the left of the goal. He fired a hard, low shot that Ramirez blocked with an outstretched hand. Alfaro found the rebound deposited it into the side netting to give Poly a 2-0 lead.
Alfaro took some extra joy in beating Wilson on its home field.
“It feels amazing,” Alfaro said. “No better feeling than beating them at home. I think since we did come out in the first half and get that lead 2-0, we got confident, and that’s what brought us down. But in the end, we got the result, we hustled and that’s what matters.”
Wilson played with more desperation in the second half. It cut the Poly lead to 2-1 in the 48th minute when Gutierrez launched a cross from the Wilson sideline across the 18-yard-box. The ball went directly to Lio Rodriguez, who scored past the dive of Twal.
Wilson’s best chance to tie the game came in the 70th minute off a free kick by Gutierrez, whose shot short-hopped Twal and bounced between his hands but flew over the crossbar.
Wilson coach CJ Brewer hopes his team learns from its slow start.
“We’ve got some young, inexperienced guys that learn lessons,” Brewer said. “You learn them the hard way and you move on and you hope they improve and don’t make the same mistakes in the future. This team is going to get better and better throughout the season, and our goal is to make the playoffs so we can play our best soccer at the end.”