LA PUENTE — The 15-game postseason winning streak for the Bishop Amat boys soccer team came to a stunning end against Los Alamitos on Saturday in the CIF State Southern California Division III Regional final.

The Lancers were unable to overcome a two-goal deficit and lost to the Griffins 2-1.

The two goals were the most allowed by Bishop Amat (27-5-3) in a match in over a month. The Lancers had conceded only two goals throughout their entire postseason run prior to Saturday’s game.

“It’s an 80 minute game. We played about 30 minutes of an 80 minute game,” Bishop Amat coach Steve Jimenez said. “At these types of games, you got to put together a full match. And we didn’t do that today.”

Los Alamitos (18-15-2) will face Watsonville in the CIF State championship game Saturday, March 14, at Natomas High in Sacramento.

Right out of the gate, Bishop Amat imposed its will by dominating possession. Dylan Gonzalez and Noah Guillen looked good in space, but were unable to finish any of their early opportunities.

Los Alamitos was able to get a few chances off counterattacks, but nothing stuck until the Griffins had a free kick in the 19th minute.

Bishop Amat senior Angel Castellanos deflected the initial shot off the set piece, but the rejoicing Bishop Amat faithful were quickly silenced when the Griffins’ Ethan Phung scored on the rebound.

The Lancers, who hadn’t trailed in a match throughout their postseason run, were suddenly facing a 1-0 deficit.

In the 43rd minute, Bishop Amat had a chance to tie the match, but had a penalty kick and the subsequent rebound shot blocked.

Using the momentum swing, Phung delivered in the 45th minute for the Griffins by slotting in his second goal of the match.

Bishop Amat, now facing a 2-0 deficit, got a goal back within minutes when Gonzalez used only one touch with his right foot to find the back of the net in the 48th minute.

Los Alamitos seemed to concede the equalizer in the 70th minute, but the assistant referee ruled that Bishop Amat was offsides, giving the Griffins some breathing room with 10 minutes left to play.

The Griffins dropped as many as seven defenders back in the waning moments to prevent Bishop Amat from having any easy opportunities on goal.

Despite being just shy of winning a second consecutive regional title, Jimenez reflected back on the legacy set by the Lancers’ senior class.

Bishop Amat had a 15-1 playoff record over the past two seasons. That includes two CIF Southern Section titles and one CIF State regional title.

“A lot of love, a lot of credit to the seniors,” Jimenez said. “They left a legacy, They created a legacy and set the standard of what Amat soccer is going to be in the future. I’m excited for the future, but definitely a lot of credit to our seniors. Not just this year, but last year as well, in creating that legacy at Amat.”

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