Owen Bates scored both goals for San Marcos in a tie and a loss at the Buena Soccer Tournament on Wednesday.
The Royals started the day with a 4-1 loss against Oxnard and played Thousand Oaks to a 1-1 draw in the second match.
“In the game against Oxnard, we lost focus midway through the second half,” San Marcos coach Daniel Torres said. “We gave up two goals in a span of two minutes after we had worked hard to tie it. We gave up at least two goals that were avoidable and you can’t do that and expect to win.”
Against Thousand Oaks, the Lancers tied the score on a penalty kick with three minutes left in the game.
“As cliché as it sounds, we have to play from beginning to end, otherwise teams will make us pay. We can’t have the mental breakdowns we had today,” said Torres.
The Royals play Santa Barbara in the fifth-place semifinals on Thursday.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.