Santa Ana, CA — Foothill Mens Soccer program welcomed Crean Lutheran to our home field for their first ever encounter. The temperature dropped off just before game time but Foothill stayed hot, remaining undefeated on their home field. The new nets that adorned Foothill's goals were begging for action and the teams did not disappoint. The Knights started the evening off when Lucas Regan scored in the 3rd minute. Garret Zehner carried the ball forward and it ended up and Regan's feet and he deftly slotted it home. Matthew Mendoza put the Knights up 2-0 in the 25th minute when he lasered a ball into the back of the net off a pass from Kevin Ambrocio. Garrett Zehner converted the final goal of the half, sneaking past the keeper after a gorgeous through ball from Jacob Garcia. The Saints opened the second half with renewed vigor and scored on a deflection from a corner kick to get back within 2 goals. The Knights were asleep and did not contest the shot. This goal gave Crean some hope but Foothill continued to be the dominant team. The Knights missed two different chances in front of goal that would have put the game on ice but in the 55th minute, the Saints saw an uncontested shot from 25 yards out trickle in. Foothill's sloppy second half play gave Crean a belief that they had a chance to salvage a result. Foothill continued to fight but the game was much more open. The Knights abandoned the possession style play that had proven to be dominant in the first half for a long ball desperation to relieve the pressure that the Saints were applying. In the 78th minute, Mendoza took a looping clearance from Lucas Regan down at full speed, in stride, just before the 50 yard line, beat 2 defenders, dribbled the keeper, and slotted the 4th goal home for the Knights to extinguish the Saint's remaining hope. It was a tale of 2 halves for the Knights in what should have been a 1 sided affair. The Knights have a difficult week ahead with teams that will test their ability to play all 80 minutes. Foothill visits Mater Dei and Fullerton away on Monday and Friday and hosts Beckman at home on Wednesday 7pm. Thank you to those who were there to support the program. Come out and see a game under the lights - let's go Knights!