ESPN

El Camino Real High School's bid to honor fallen goalkeeper Francisco “Pancho” Rodriguez fell two games shy of the mark. The second-seeded Conquistadores were upset Thursday by Narbonne in the CIF Los Angeles City Section boys soccer playoffs.

Alfonso Moreno's 71st-minute goal lifted Gardena's Narbonne (16-6-4), which will play at third-seeded San Fernando (20-2-3) in Tuesday's semifinals, a rematch of the 2010 title game won by the team from the San Fernando Valley. The seventh-seeded Gauchos, who beat ECR in last year's playoffs, have won nine successive games.

El Camino Real (20-5-4), from Woodland Hills, has been on a mission since Rodriguez, the starting goalkeeper, was shot to death Jan. 11 outside his home after a West Valley League victory over Taft of Woodland Hills. The Conquistadores rallied to tie the score on Lucas Ladek's goal before halftime, and Moreno finished from Byron Rivera's pass to lift the South Bay school.

ECR walked off the field in disappointment. “We really wanted that ring,” senior midfielder Danny Cruz told the Los Angeles Daily News. “We wanted to get it for Pancho.”

San Fernando extended its unbeaten streak to 12 games, beating Jefferson on penalties after a scoreless draw. The other semifinal will pit top-seeded Bell, a 1-0 winner over Palisades, against Fremont, which routed Belmont, 3-0.

SEEING RED: Foshay Learning Center on Thursday upset Annenberg, eliminating the top-seeded team in Small Schools division to advance to next week's semifinals.

The result was reversed, and Annenberg reinistated, on Friday morning. The reason: a red card.

Foshay head coach Bartolomo Perez was ejected during the quarterfinal match, and that's a real no-no in the City Section.

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CARSON -- Peter Vagenas has been a part of teams that have won eight trophies in a 12-year Major League Soccer career, playing a significant role in some of the triumphs, and that alone makes him attractive to Chivas USA.

The veteran midfielder from Pasadena (St. Francis HS/UCLA) joined the Goats' preseason preparations this week and is set to sign with the club, likely on Saturday.

“We told you we were looking for experienced players, right? And Pete's been through the wars,” Chivas coach Robin Fraser said after Friday morning's fitness session at Home Depot Center. “He's won championships, he's been a very instrumental part of very good teams in this league. When the opportunity came up to get him, it was something we really had to jump at.”

Vagenas, 33, comes to Chivas after a season with Vancouver, in which he started 13 of the 16 league games in which he appeared. He spent the previous two years with Seattle, making 21 league appearances, after nine seasons with the Galaxy.

He helped L.A. win two MLS Cups, two U.S. Open Cups, a CONCACAF Champions' Cup and the 2002 Supporters' Shield, captaining the Galaxy to a MLS Cup/U.S. Open Cup “double” in 2005. He also was with two U.S. Open Cup-winning sides with Seattle.

“We've known Pete ... gosh, his first year was my last year with the Galaxy. So I've known him a long time,” Fraser said. “[Assistant coach] Greg [Vanney] and Jim [Liston, the fitness coach] know him even better than I do. ... Pete's the kind of guy who has been an important part of locker rooms with very successful teams. And we keep coming back to that, looking for guys who have track record of success. And he's been very good.”

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