Josh Gallagher helps Loyola turn back Cathedral in boys’ soccer

Josh Gallagher seems to have a little more adrenaline playing against Cathedral.

After scoring both of his team’s goals in Loyola’s triumph over its downtown rival last season, the senior captain scored his team’s first goal Tuesday night and helped the Cubs withstand heavy pressure in the final moments of a 2-1 victory in the latest edition of a soccer game dubbed the “Downtown World Cup.”

“Just like last year… the goalkeeper didn’t leave his line and I just went back to the post with it,” Gallagher said, describing his header on a throw-in just seven minutes into the match. “We’re not as experienced, but we have a lot of depth. It’s a long And a short season. I don’t want to miss a game. »

Gallagher scored in each of Loyola’s first three games.

Kian Benitez doubled Loyola’s lead with less than six minutes left in the first half, finishing a nice pass in the box from fellow junior King Aberman.

“I hit the defender and poked him in front of the goalie,” Benitez said of his first college goal. “It seems surreal…a good time, a good time. I knew I had to rise to the occasion when they put me in. It was a really big game and we persevered.”

Loyola senior captain Josh Gallagher (22) dribbles around a Cathedral defender.

(Steve Galluzzo / For Time)

Loyola graduated 14 players from last year’s veteran team that lost to JSerra in the Southern Section Open Division final and again a week later in the Southern California regional final.

“I can already see that this team has a lot of heart, from the starters to the bench,” Benitez added.

Goalkeeper Joseph Piscatella made several point-blank saves to keep his team in the lead. The Cubs (2-0-1) have won consecutive games after eight losses and two ties in the schools’ previous 10 regular-season meetings.

The visiting Phantoms (0-2) cut their deficit in half in the 44th minute when senior midfielder Hector Gutierrez fired his direct free kick 30 yards outside the far post and past the diving Piscatello.

Loyola is seeking its sixth section title, having won four (2005, 2007, 2014, 2016) since coach Chris Walter took over the program 25 years ago.

Cathedral won back-to-back Southern Section titles in 2014 and 2015 under coach Arturo Lopez and defeated Loyola 4-1 in the 2020 Southern California Regional Division I final.