San Marcos suffered its first boys soccer loss, falling to Animo, 3-0, in a quarterfinal game at the South Torrance Tournament on Wednesday.
The Royals rallied to a 2-2 draw with Palos Verdes and lost in a penalty-kick shootout in their second game of the day.
Tully Knoles scored on a 30-yard strike to make it 2-1 and Leonel Olivo capped a nice sequence of passes to tie the score.
“We were really pleased with our performance this afternoon,” said coach Paul McLean of the Palos Verdes game. “After going down early in the game, our team responded really well and found ways to get back into the game. It was a good mental challenge for us. Freshman Sergio Ramirez and sophomore Luis Botello did a great job at outside back. They started a lot of our attacking play.”
“All four teams we played were good challenges for us and showed us where we need to improve and where we have progressed. It is a great tournament for that.”
The Royals are 6-1-2 and play at Dos Pueblos on Jan. 5.