Cap crushes Mills

In the end, however, the Mustangs had too much firepower in a 4-0 blanking of the Vikings. Nick Cukar had two goals and an assist with the Mitchell brothers — Lee and Sean — each picking up a goal. Philip Zavala added an assist as well.

"This is like homecoming," Cukar said. "Some of these guys are on my club team."

Capuchino (4-0-1) controlled the first 10 minutes of the game, putting heavy pressure on the Mills (0-1-3) goal. The Mustangs finally broke the seal in the 15th minute when Cukar lofted a long pass over the top of the Mills defense. Sean Mitchell, a sophomore, got a step on his defender, ran onto the ball and slotted a shot to the far right post for a 1-0 lead.

"We won the game in the midfield," said Capuchino coach Rod Kovacevic. "It gave us more opportunities to attack the goal."

Capuchino had several other good chances for scores in the opening 40 minutes but could not convert.

"[Mills goalkeeper Thomas] Chu had two great saves in the first half that kept it 1-0," said Mills coach Tim Keller.

In the second half, poor communication and defensive breakdowns by the Vikings gave the Mustangs three more goals. Ten minutes into the second half, Capuchino took a 2-0 lead on a bit of a fluke. The Mustangs were awarded a free kick 35 yards from the Mills goal. Zavala stepped up and sent a pass to the edge of the box. The ball headed straight to a Mills defender but he flubbed the clear attempt. Suddenly, three Capuchino players were behind the defense with only Chu left to beat. Senior Lee Mitchell was the lucky one to find the ball at his feet. He took a few dribbles to his right and uncorked a low, hard shot that beat the diving Chu.

Minutes later, Cukar took advantage of another breakdown. A Mills defender attempted a pass back to Chu, unaware that Cukar was lurking over his shoulder. The pass was weak and Cukar swooped in and poked it past the charging Chu for a 3-0 Mustangs lead.

"We have worked on [the pass back to the goalkeeper] in practice and we've done it successfully before (in games)," Keller said. "It was a lack of communication and a weak pass."

Cukar rounded out the scoring five minutes from the end. On another free kick, Omar Castro whipped a pass into the Mills penalty box. Two Capuchino players converged on the ball and again Cukar was there first to tap the ball into the goal.

"I just get what I can get," Cukar said. "I just want to keep improving, just try to finish as best I can."

Mills forward Matt Waterman had a few chances to make dangerous attacks on the Mustangs' goal, but the tall, strong Capuchino defensive line turned Waterman — and his teammates — away time and again.

"A lot of time in games, Matt finds himself in the right spot, but he can't win [the ball]," Keller said. "He ran into some trees today."

Nathan Mollat can be reached at e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 x102.