Chris Rodriquez #5 of Cabrillo kicks the ball away from Salvador Alfaro #9 of Long Beach Poly during a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Chris Rodriguez #5 of Cabrillo competes for the ball with Salvador Alfaro #9 of Long Beach Poly in a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Salvador Alfaro #9 of Long Beach Poly tangles with Cabrillo goal keeper Jose Padilla during a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
James Alonso #16 of Long Beach Poly deflects the ball in front of his goalie Jaime Hernandez while Ivan Perez #6 of Cabrillo moves toward the ball in a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Miguel Ramirez #2 of Cabrillo keeps the ball away from Salvador Alfaro of Long Beach Poly during a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Matthew Sanchez #11 congratulates teammate Benitio Quezada #18 after he scored a goal against Cabrillo in a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Rey Palacios #8 of Cabrillo competes for the ball with Anthony Isco #20 of Long Beach Poly in a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Ivan Perez #6 of Cabrillo competes with Carlos Casillas #18 of Long Beach Poly in a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Miguel Ramirez #2 of Cabrillo and Alejandro Gomes #19 of Long Beach Poly compete for the ball in a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Rey Palacios #8 of Cabrillo and Christopher Alvarez #13 of Long Beach Poly in a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Marcel Markaryan #19 of Long Beach Poly gets past Ivan Perez #6 of Cabrillo in a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Salvador Alfaro #9 of Long Beach Poly tangles with Cabrillo goal keeper Jose Padilla during a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Rey Palacios #8 of Cabrillo and Joseph Lemus #12 of Long Beach Poly in a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Damian Gonzalez #25 of Long Beach Poly tangles with Ivan Perez #6 of Cabrillo during a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Cabrillo goal keeper Jose Padilla collides with Daniel Silva (#22) of Long Beach Poly in a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Anthony Isco #20 of Long Beach Poly grabs the arm of a Cabrillo player during a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Anderson Trujillo #27 of Cabrillo competes for the ball with Salvador Alfaro #9 of Long Beach Poly in a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
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Chris Rodriquez #5 of Cabrillo kicks the ball away from Salvador Alfaro #9 of Long Beach Poly during a boys soccer game on December 17, 2025 in Long Beach, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
LONG BEACH – The Long Beach Poly and Cabrillo boys soccer teams played to a 2-2 tie in their Moore League opener Wednesday at Poly High School.
In a back-and-forth contest that saw emotions run high, where both teams were forced to come back from a goal deficit and Poly finished the game with only nine players, the Moore League soccer schedule got off to an intense start.
Carlos Casillas scored both goals for Poly with assists from Matthew Sanchez and Benito Quezada. Goalkeeper Mekiah Twal stopped six of eight shots by Cabrillo.
Alan Fuentes and Dario Morales scored for Cabrillo. Nelson Beltran and Jose Padilla split goalkeeping duties and turned away a combined four of six shots by Poly.
Sanchez wasted no time terrorizing the right side of the Cabrillo defense. In the first minute, Sanchez ran onto a ball on his own sideline and dribbled deep into Cabrillo territory. He gained a step on the Cabrillo defender and launched a crossing pass to Casillas, who redirected the ball past Padilla into the top corner of the goal for a 1-0lead.
Cabrillo (6-3-1, 0-0-1) tied the score to start the second half when Morales pounded a loose ball from the top of the Poly 18-yard-box past a diving Twal in the 43 minute.
The Jaguars took their first lead 10 minutes later when Poly’s Daniel Silva was called for a hand ball in the 18-yard-box, giving Cabrillo a penalty kick. Fuentes booted a low, hard shot into the bottom right corner as Twal guessed wrong on the shot’s direction.
That goal gave Cabrillo a 2-1 lead.
In the 60th minute, emotions boiled over. A shoving match broke out in the Cabrillo end of the field between the two teams resulting in two red cards for Poly (1-4-1, 0-0-1), which had to play the rest of the game down two players.
Cabrillo coach Patrick Noyes wasn’t surprised by the intensity of the Moore League game.
“For the 27 seasons I’ve coached here, it’s typical to have emotional games,” Noyes said. “The kids all grew up with each other. I guarantee you everyone on this team knew someone on that team. They are all battling for the badge.”
In spite of the manpower disadvantage, a 71st minute volley from Quezada found Casillas, who deposited a shot behind Beltran to tie the score at 2-2.
Casillas was proud of his team’s effort in a difficult situation.
“It feels great,” Casillas said. “Honestly, after we went two men down, we didn’t have much hope. But we kept on pressing and eventually we got one. I just feel proud of the team. Just defend and wait for the counterattack and the opportunities will come.”
Poly coach Carlos Casillas echoed that sentiment.
“At the end of the day, I’m just proud of my boys,” Casillas said. “With nine players, coming back and tying the game. We’ll take that.”
Morales was disappointed Cabrillo couldn’t finish off Poly.
“We could have won,” Morales said. “At least we didn’t lose, but we should have won playing against nine.”