San Marcos moved Andy Mandrell to the backline on Thursday and it paid off in the Royals’ first shutout of the season, a 0-0 draw at Cate.
Michael Palmer, Ramiro Jaramillo and Mandrell filled out an effective defensive wall for the Royals.
“I think we’re going in the right direction,” said Royals head coach Daniel Torres. “We’ve given up at least one in our last four games so to get that (shutout) was nice.”
The flip side was that it was also the first game that San Marcos failed to score. Moving Mandrell to the back limited the offensive looks for one of the Royals’ most dangerous attackers.
San Marcos (1-2-2) faces Oxnard in its next game on Tuesday.
Cate (1-1-1) travels to Ojai on Saturday to clash with rival Thacher.
