The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
The562’s coverage of Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
All Lucca Pires does is score Moore League goals.
Wilson has played seven league games and the senior Pires has scored a goal in all of them. He netted a first-half brace on Wednesday night in a 2-0 win over visiting Cabrillo.
“He has put in the work so when that moment gets there it happens,” Wilson coach CJ Brewer said of Pires’ ability to be in the right spot at the right time. “It’s an upper echelon of talent that he has because he’s confident in all the work he’s put in and it shows. It’s like he graduated last year so it’s like he’s older than everyone.”
The Bruins (8-3-2, 5-2-0) are second in league, four points behind first-place Millikan.
“We know that we can win the league, and every single game in the future we’re going to give 100 percent because we want that Moore League trophy more than anything,” Pires said.
Wilson absorbed some early pressure from Cabrillo and forward Duane Baker, but turned the tide with a string of set pieces. In the 12th minute, Yair Gonzalez teed up a set piece from about 45 yards out and placed it perfectly in the heart of the 18-yard box for Pires to head home with a slight deflection.
“It’s straight from the training ground, honestly,” Pires said of scoring a glancing header with his back towards goal. “It’s practice. After playing soccer for 17-18 years you start to get a little knack for where the goal is.”
Pires celebrated the goal by holding his hands down to keep his team calm.
“He’s a leader and he knows the magnitude of everything and he makes sure that everyone around him is cool,” Brewer said of Pires.
“I’ve been on Varsity for three years, I’ve won Moore League, and I know what it takes for us to be a winning team, a league championship team,” Pires said. “After the first goal I said, ‘Hey guys, calm down.’ There’s a lot of emotion in the game and anything can happen.”
Baker nearly equalized at the other end a few minutes later, but Wilson goalkeeper Grayson Gilmore came off his line for one of his four saves in a clean sheet performance.
The Bruins used some deft last-ditch defending to slow down Baker and the Cabrillo forwards, and then just after the half hour mark Pires doubled the lead. He was on the far side during a switch of play, and gambled with an early back-post run in anticipation of a chip pass that was headed on by Joey Ragusa. Pires drilled it home with his first touch.
Wilson moved numbers behind the ball to defend its lead in the second half, and Pires was a big part of that while defenders Gonzalez and Miles Frazier locked down the flanks.
“When we needed to shut the game down we moved (Pires) back in a defensive role,” Brewer said. “He didn’t ask us. He did it. We give him the ability to make those types of decisions. It was the right move.”
Cabrillo ended up outshooting Wilson 14-6 in the game but the majority of the Jaguars’ shots in the second half came from distance after the Bruins defense frustrated their attack.
“We stayed organized and we knew we could invite some pressure but that we could still defend well,” Wilson center back Ian Bond said. “Sometimes we’re prone to giving fouls near our box, so just staying disciplined,… we know we can keep a clean sheet when we do that.”
Wilson’s size on the back line also came in handy while Cabrillo earned five corner kicks and a few dangerous set pieces that didn’t resulted in only a handful of shots on target.
On Friday, Cabrillo hosts Millikan while Wilson enjoys a bye. The Bruins face Lakewood on Monday in another key league game.
