Moore kicks Knights into semis

LONG BEACH — St. Francis High soccer player Amir Moore has developed a sudden knack for scoring dramatic postseason goals, and the forward’s latest effort has St. Francis’ playoff drive still going in full force.

Moore scored six minutes into sudden-death overtime to power St. Francis to a 3-2 road victory against Long Beach Jordan on Friday afternoon in a CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinal match.

St. Francis (16-5-4) will host a semifinal match Tuesday at Friedman Field against second-seeded Millikan, a 1-0 winner over West Torrance. It will be the Golden Knights’ first semifinal appearance since 2003, when they eventually went on to share the Division II crown with Woodbridge.

An alert Moore elongated St. Francis’ playoff journey, beginning when he took a point-blank shot that Jordan goalkeeper Omar Castillo stopped. However, Moore corralled the rebound and kicked the game-winning goal into an empty net before being mobbed by his teammates.

“I was running up and looked at the goalie,” said Moore, who scored the match-winning goal with four minutes left to give St. Francis a 1-0 second-round home win against Newbury Park on Wednesday. “He got a hand on it and my eyes lighted up on the rebound.

“If I don’t perform, I feel like I let the school and team down. We’ve come together and we’ve been able to dig deep.”

St. Francis, which took fourth in the Mission League this season before picking up playoff shutout victories against Tesoro and Newbury Park, saw Jordan (10-7-2) give it all it could handle throughout the suspenseful 86-minute contest.

St. Francis also needed another standout effort from senior goalkeeper Jordan Bell, who collected 12 saves. Bell’s best save came when he made a leaping stop on a shot by Edgar Palacios with five seconds left in regulation.

“We had to pick each other up,” Bell said. “We said that we had to get this one, and it’s also on me because I put it in my head that we wanted to go all out.

“We knew that something was coming soon, and Amir showed heart and drive when he powered his way in.”

St. Francis saw Jordan, which won its first two playoff matches in overtime, take a 1-0 lead on a free kick by Jesse Castañeda in the 34th minute, ending St. Francis’ playoff shutout streak of 194 minutes. The Golden Knights tied the match at 1 when Eric Verso scored on a penalty shot in the 50th minute.

The Golden Knights were awarded the penalty shot after Castillo pulled Verso down while going for a rebound inside the goal box.

After Jordan took a 2-1 lead on a shot by Palacios, St. Francis’ GP Gonzalez squared the contest a minute later on a rebound off a shot by Verso.

St. Francis Coach Glen Appels said hustle played a factor in each of St. Francis’ goals.

“Our guys kept fighting through and the end of [regulation] was almost like sudden death,” Appels said. “I told Amir that the only thing better than being a hero once is that it’s better twice.”