Hillsdale rips Aragon, 4-1 Nathan Mollat Daily Journal staff

Unfortunately, Aragon could not pick up its first Ocean Division win as Hillsdale beat the Dons 4-1.

The game was actually closer than the final score indicates. Aragon had several golden opportunities, as did Hillsdale. The difference was the Knights finished their chances.

"The kids played well," said Hillsdale coach Andy Hodzic.

The game turned on a couple of plays early in the second half. With Aragon trailing 2-1, a Hillsdale defender fanned on a clearing attempt. Aragon's Jeff Barrera zipped around the defender and dribbled in on the Hillsdale goalkeeper with no defenders in the way. Barrera shanked the shot wide, however.

Seconds later, Marko Brekalo scored to put Hillsdale up 3-1 and deflate the Dons' confidence.

Hillsdale (4-0-1 Ocean Division, 7-1-1 overall) scored twice in each half, three of which came on Aragon defensive breakdowns. It didn't take long for the Knights to take a 1-0 lead, scoring in the 10th minute. Jose Meija sent a corner kick to the far left post to initiate the scoring sequence. While the cross was not particularly dangerous, the Aragon defense relaxed and Meija snuck in behind them. Marko Brekalo settled the ball and crossed it back to a wide open Meija, who buried it in the top of the net.

Less than 10 minutes later, Hillsdale struck again. Off a throw in, Dima Wyman dribbled the ball toward the endline. He crossed to the far left post and found a wide open Cristian Argueta, who also snuck in behind the defense, and buried a header for a 2-0 advantage.

The Dons had a couple of chances to get on the scoreboard earlier, but Hillsdale goalkeeper Frank Huerta pushed aside a Dan Litwak free kick. The Knights' defense also helped out, blocking two Aragon shot attempts in the penalty box.

Aragon (0-1-3) finally broke the seal in the 21st minute off a free kick. Litwak lofted a shot over the Hillsdale wall that bounced off the crossbar. Roberto Diaz got the rebound and put it away to cut the Hillsdale lead to 2-1.

The goal appeared to energize the Dons as they began to even out the run of the play.

Aragon's appeared to pick up its play at the end of each half. Down 4-1, the Dons had three or four great chances to score. But Huerta was there each time - he made a sliding kick save to prevent one score, and grabbed a point-blank header moments later. Just before the final whistle, the Dons had a shot glance off the goal post.

"I think [the guys] just relaxed (at the end of each half)," Hodzic said.

Brekalo scored his second goal of the game about 10 minutes from the end. The Knights were awarded a free kick 25 yards from the Aragon goal. Somehow, Meija sent a perfect diagonal pass in front of the goal that Brekalo ran on to a redirected into the net.

"We created good pressure from the outside," Hodzic said. "When you do that, you create a lot of opportunities."