DIVISION I-A: Fast start propels Chargers by Jaguars in playoff opener

Clark boys soccer coach Juan Chavez expected his team to win Monday, but he didn’t expect it to be so easy.

The third-seeded Chargers scored two goals in the first 10 minutes and rolled to a 4-0 win over second-seeded Desert Pines in the first round of the Division I-A Southern Region tournament at Heritage Park.

Junior midfielder Jose Martinez scored two goals, and goalkeeper Ramon Ramirez logged eight saves to earn the shutout.

“I was expecting a good, close game,” said Chavez, whose team has become notorious for its slow starts this season. “I thought in the second half, someone would finally make a mistake.”

The Jaguars (11-3-2) were the first to make a mistake, but it wasn’t in the second half. Instead, Victor Alvarez put the Chargers up 1-0 when he caught Desert Pines’ goalkeeper leaning the wrong way on a goal from close range.

Martinez scored on a penalty kick two minutes later to give the Chargers (12-5-1) all the momentum they would need.

“That penalty kick pumped us up,” Martinez said. “It really got us going.”

Chavez, meanwhile, had a hard time believing his team had taken control so early.

“We had never played (Desert Pines),” he said. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect. That first goal is always hard for us to score. Once we scored, I knew we would be fine.”

The Chargers added to Chavez’s confidence with two minutes left in the first half, when Martinez fired in a goal from 20 yards out. Clark led 3-0 at halftime.

Chavez praised Martinez, who started the season on the junior varsity roster.

“He’s impressed me a lot,” Chavez said. “I had doubts at the beginning of the season, but he’s gotten better and better, and that showed today.”

Manuel Ponce scored Clark’s final goal from close range on a deflection off the goalkeeper to make it 4-0 nine minutes into the second half.

Martinez said his team’s strong opener could prove to be the key to a successful postseason.

“This kind of game is what we needed,” he said. “Get that first goal early and control the ball.”

Western 2, Chaparral 1 — Fernando Caro knocked in a header on an assist from Edgar Lujano with six minutes remaining to lift the Warriors (13-1-4) over the Cowboys (4-9-3).

Darian Farias scored Western’s first goal early in the second half, but Lester Izquirido tied it for Chaparral with 16 minutes left to play.

Boulder City 2, Faith Lutheran 1 — Midfielder Victor Andrades ricocheted a shot off a defender with 15 minutes to go to lift the Eagles (9-7-1) over the Crusaders (14-9-4) with the tiebreaking goal.

Gonzalo Mera Bermudez scored a first-half goal on an assist from Massimo Barbieri to put Boulder City ahead 1-0 at halftime.

Randal Colquitt scored Faith Lutheran’s goal in the second half.

Tech 3, Mojave 1 — Julio Vargas scored two goals to lead the Roadrunners past the Rattlers.

Rafael Munoz added a goal and an assist for Tech, and teammate Brandon Vargas logged two assists.

Juan Ramirez scored a second-half goal for Mojave, which trailed 1-0 at halftime.