LOYOLA EARNS TIE WITH S.F. : ST. FRANCIS 2, LOYOLA 2.

Byline: Nevin Barich Daily News Staff Writer

St. Francis High's boys' soccer coach Glen Appels had a look on his face that said it all.

``That one sure didn't lack for excitement, huh?'' said Appels, with a weary but exhilarated look after watching his seventh-ranked Knights battle with 10th-ranked Loyola for a 2-2 tie Saturday at St. Francis in a matchup of the Mission League's top two teams.

With the tie, Loyola (13-4-6, 5-1-2), which has won the last three Mission League crowns and is the defending Southern Section Division I champions, remains in first place in league - two points ahead of St. Francis (11-4-5, 4-1-2), Harvard-Westlake (5-3 in league) and Crespi (5-3 in league).

The brunt of the fireworks started in the last two minutes of the second half when Loyola goalkeeper Nic Platter, while trying to nab a corner kick, was called for pushing St. Francis defender Louis Fisher to the ground. This call caused Loyola coach Carlos Leon to become irate, at one point even walking onto the field as he screamed and pointed at the referee.

``If you looked closely, you could see that the goalie got mad and pushed our guy to the ground,'' Appels said.

But Leon didn't agree. After St. Francis midfielder Anthony Zuric scored on the ensuing penalty kick to tie the game at 1, Leon continued to argue the previous call, resulting in his ejection from the game.

The Knights, who played much of the game with 10 men after midfielder Rey Hernandez was given a red card in the second half for shoving an opposing player, appeared to have the game locked up when Ryan Shaw headed in a goal to put his team up 2-1.

But with just three minutes remaining in the extra period, the Cubs rallied when Omar Chanman chipped the ball on the right side past St. Francis goalkeeper Raul Calderon to salvage the tie.

``Ryan's an extremely hard worker,'' Appels said of Shaw, who leads St. Francis with 15 goals this season. ``That might seem like a minor attribute but that's the difference between a good player and a great player. He has a good sense of the goal and he's really quick.''

Platter recorded 14 saves, including one in the 69th minute, when he leapt backward to swat away a shot with a sweeping left hand.

It wasn't the first big save that Platter added to his highlight reel on Saturday. In the 7th minute, Shaw slammed a scissors kick off a throw-in to the left side of the goal, catching Platter momentarily off-guard. But the goalie, despite being out of position, dove and managed to bat the ball away.

``Nic made a lot of big saves,'' said Loyola assistant coach Chris Walter. ``This is probably one of the best games he's had all season.''

Calderon also had some big stops while racking up 14 saves for St. Francis. The best one came in the 58th minute when Loyola forward Jorge Torres, on a breakaway, gunned one toward the goal. But Calderon dived forward and kicked the ball toward midfield to keep his team close.

The Cubs, who were coming off a 4-1 win over Notre Dame on Friday, led for much of the game after midfielder Mario Picarelli's throw-in in the 39th minute sailed over the heads of five St. Francis defenders into the net to give Loyola a 1-0 lead.

The Knights appeared to have scored in the 62nd minute when Robbie Layman snuck down the right side and shot one past Platter. But right before the shot, the referee whistled play dead when a St. Francis player went behind the goalie.

``If we had gotten one of those goals early on, it would have been a much different ball game,'' said Appels whose team has now tied Loyola twice this season.