Lineup Change Does the Zodiac Good

SANTA ANA — Midfielder Alex Mingo sat patiently on the Zodiac bench Wednesday night, not sure whether he would get into the game with the California Jaguars.

But shortly after entering the A-League soccer game late in the second half, Mingo did what his teammates have struggled to do this season: get a winning goal.

In only his second A-League game with the team, Mingo blasted the ball into the net from dead center just outside the penalty area with four minutes left on the scoreboard clock to lift the Zodiac to a 2-1 victory in front of an estimated 1,000 spectators.

It was the first loss for California (4-1), which was coming off an impressive 3-0 victory over the Colorado Foxes. But it was even bigger for the Zodiac (2-4), who had lost four straight and were starting to hear the boo-birds.

“This was very important for us,” Zodiac Coach Tony Cerna said. “I told the guys before the game, this was against a team that was 4-0. If we beat them, it puts us in a better position.”

For most of the game at Santa Ana Stadium, the Zodiac offense consisted of speedy striker Gustavo Leal slipping behind the Jaguar defense as his teammates played long balls into space in front of him. While not that inventive, it was entertaining. Cerna said he saw that as the only way to take on the Jaguars, who had superior height and strength in their back line.

The technique led to the Zodiac’s first goal, when Leal beat an off-side trap, took a long pass from Carlos Farias and went into the penalty box. Hen then drew out goalkeeper Kevin Rueda and tapped a right-footer past the goalie into the net.

Farias also assisted on the winner, crossing the ball from left to right to Mingo, who sneaked up on defenders from the midfield area and timed the pass perfectly to beat Rueda.

“I don’t think they figured I would one-time the ball,” Mingo said of the winning goal. “I came in from behind. They probably thought I would stop it or pass it off. That was a big goal, not only for me, but for our team. Hopefully, that will get us off to a good start.”

Cerna opened the contest with several changes. Most effective was his decision to move forward Jose Vasquez back to defend against sturdy Jaguar striker Jerome Watson. Fellow defenders Peter Lak and John Bovetas also did fine slowing Jaguars’ leading scorer, Mark Baena.

“We had to try something else,” Cerna said. “These guys on the bench were hungry. Things weren’t working and we had to try something different.”

The Zodiacs had only two real defensive lapses. They allowed Watson to get his head on the ball off a corner kick and he redirected it off the cross bar with 20 minutes left. Then, seven minutes later, a nicely slotted pass behind the defensive line from Baena to reserve Luis Gomez led to the Jaguars’ only goal.