University Ties Huntington Beach

Scrappy defensive play by University combined with missed opportunities by Huntington Beach, ranked sixth in the county, resulted in a 1-1 tie in a nonleague boys’ soccer game Wednesday at Huntington Beach High.

“We didn’t play great today,” said Huntington Beach assistant coach John Clark, who assumed the head coaching duties for Kevin Smith, who is on a leave of absence. “We had some opportunities, we just didn’t close it out.”

Many of those scoring chances came in the first half when University was ineffective offensively. The Oilers (6-0-1) got several good scoring chances, but could not convert any of four corner kicks in the first 20 minutes.

University (1-2-1) came out aggressively in the second half and scored first when senior midfielder Yohei Fukuda sent a cross to Chris Baez, who knocked it past goalkeeper Shaun Roberts for a 1-0 lead.

The Oilers tied the game with 20 minutes remaining on Drew McAthy’s penalty kick.

“I knew we had the ability to play at this level,” University Coach Jonathan Spencer said. “In the second half, we owned the game, but we just didn’t finish it out when we had the lead.”