CIF Southern Section Men Soccer Finals

Saturday, March 1, 2008

CHAMPIONSHIPS

DIVISION I

Santa Margarita 1, Newbury Park 0
As it has been all year, the key to victory for Santa Margarita was its defense.

The Eagles took out Newbury Park's top player and stiffled the Panthers' offense to earn a 1-0 victory in the Southern Section Division I championship game. The game was not as close the score might indicate.

Santa Margarita (21-3-4), which notched their 16th shutout of the season and fifth of the playoffs, held Newbury Park (12-6-4) to three shots for the first 65 minutes of the game. The Panthers ended up being outshot 12-6. Cal-bound Mike Munoz headed home the game winner in the 57th minute on a corner kick taken by junior Austin McAnena.

The Eagles' defense centered around double and triple covering forward Vinny Muscarrella. The strategy as Muscarrella never got into any rythym and was limited to just one shot.

"Defensively, best team I've ever coached," said Santa Margarita coach Curt Bauer, whose Eagles only allowed 11 goals in 28 games this season.

To find a better team, Bauer needs to go back to the early 90s, when current MLS goalkeeper Matt Reis was protecting the goal. This years team also features a solid goalkeeper, 6-foot-5 junior Billy Thompson, but it also has a tremendous backline that's anchored by LMU-bound Roger Downes.

The Eagles defense is still not over as they will participate next week in the first year of the SoCal Regional tournamet. The seedings and schedule is out Sunday afternoon, but Santa Margarita is expected to be the to seed in Division II. The tournament is beign organized by the state office and divisions are based on enrollment.

-- Jaime Cardenas

DIVISION II

Peninsula 2, West Torrance 0
West Torrance did little to curb the perception that it's tough to beat the beat the same team there times in a season. Palos Verdes Peninsula, who lost once and tied with West Torrance in the regular season, beat their Bay League rival, 2-0, in the Southern Section Division II finals on Saturday at Downey High. The Panthers (15-6-4) did not allow a goal during the playoffs. Senior goalkeeper Nick Beranek had five consecutive shutouts. This is the first CIF title for the Peninsula since the 1995-96 season. The Warriors, who were in the playoffs for the first time since 1987, finish 17-4-6.

DIVISION III

La Habra 2, Saddleback 1

DIVISION IV

Santa Monica 2, Jurupa Valley 0
Santa Monica coach Frank Gatell didn't just want to win it for himself and his players, he wanted to win it for everyone that had ever worn the SAMO uniform.

"I was never able to get to this level and for it's always been about the family" said Gatell, who played at Santa Monica and has been the coach at the school the last 11 years. "It's not just that I personally got here, but it's the whole family that got here-- and to me that's the most important thing."

With former players and coaches sin attendance, the nationally-ranked Vikings won their first ever CIF title by beating Jurupa Valley, 2-0, in the Southern Section Division IV finals Saturday morning at Warren High. Both goals were scored by forward Alessandro Canale off of corner kicks from midfielder Artur Jozkowicz.

Santa Monica (26-0-1), ranked No. 2 in the nation by Soccer.Rivals.com, will likely be the top seed in Division I next week when the SoCal Regionals begin on Tuesday. The main goal for the Vikings when the season began was not to finish No. 1 in the nation or to win the regional, however.

"All that really matters is this plaque right here," said Canale, a senior, while holding the CIF championship plaque.

Canale is the team's leading scorer with 20 goals. LMU-bound Jozkowicz leads the team in assists with 23. He's also second in goals with 13.

Jurupa Valley finishes the season with a record of 20-3-4.

-- Jaime Cardenas

DIVISION V

Oaks Christian 2, Hesperia 1

DIVISION VI

Desert Mirage 1, Arrowhead Christian 0


at Warren

Division IV: #1 Santa Monica (25-0-1) vs. Jurupa Valley (20-2-4), 10 a.m.
Division I: #1 Santa Margarita (20-3-4) vs. Newbury Park (12-5-4), 2 p.m.
Division V: Hesperia (18-2-11) vs. #4 Oaks Christian (18-4-3), 6 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 29

SMALL SCHOOLS Elizabeth Learning Center 4, Sherman Oaks 3 (OT) Sophomore forward Lewis Suarez tied the game in the 73rd minute with his second goal of the game and won with his third goal in the 85th minute in the first overtime. Jorge Avila, senior midfielder, also scored for Elizabeth. Israel Sandoval scored all three goals for Sherman Oaks in the first half. Elizabeth finished 9-8-3, while Sherman Oaks was 7-9-5.

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008

DIVISION I

Semifinals

Newbury Park 1, Los Alamitos 0 ( 2 OT)
Nick Harrison scored the game's only goal and Troy Williams had 12 saves to spark host Newbury Park (12-4-4).

Santa Margarita 2, Mater Dei 1
Santa Margarita senior Roger Downes left Mater Dei High's soccer field sporting a 2006-07 CIF championship ring and T-shirt. They are his only championship ring and shirt and Downes wants to add to his collection.

The team's captain, and heart and soul of the defense, got a step closer to accomplishing his goal as top seed Santa Margarita advanced to Saturday's Southern Section Division I championship game by beating Santa Ana Mater Dei, 2-1, on Tuesday.

Collecting championship rings is nothing new at Santa Margarita. The Eagles will be making their third Division I finals appearance in three years, the walked away as co-champions the previous two season. Two of Donwes' teammates, forward Mike Munoz and defender Trevor Moylan, already have two rings and Downes wants to be able to rock multiple bling-bling also.

"That's what we strive to get," Downes said of his ring. "Yeah, it's about winning, being a team, working hard and everything, but it's also for the hardware.

"This ring says Santa Margarita on it and that's who I play for. This is my school and I'm proud to proud to play here." Santa Margarita's opponent in the championship game will be unranked Newbury Park, which upset Los Alamitos, 1-0, in overtime.

The Eagles (20-3-4), who had already beaten Mater Dei (18-6-4) twice this season, put pressure on senior goalkeeper Eric Corbin as soon as the game began. Corbin was not easily rattled, making a wonderful stop on a shot from junior midfielder Austin McAnena in the third minute and then another save in the 16th minute. McAnena ended up getting the best of Corbin, though, as he set up both goals for Santa Margarita on crosses from the right side of field.

Forward Casey Wootan scored the first goal in the 17th minute and then midfielder Chris Canty, taking a perfect pass from McAnena, added another right before halftime in the 40th minute to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead at halftime.

McAnena terrorized Mater Dei's midfield, which was weakened in the first 10 minutes of the game when midfielder Chris Zamarripa was forced to leave the game with a leg injury. Zamarripa, a junior, is one of the Monarchs fastest players and one of their top performers.

"I couldn't do anything," Mater Dei coach Martin Stringer said. "With him gone I had a sophomore on the field and there's not a lot I can do. It's unfortunate, but it's just the way it goes sometimes."

In the second half, with the Monarchs football team cheering on, Mater Dei played better. Senior midfielder Jeff Wiant cut the Eagles lead in half with a tremendous curving free kick that found the upper left corner of the goal in the 65th minute. "It was a great shot," Santa Margarita coach Curt Bauer said. "From that close [about two yards outside the penalty box], to be able to get it up 6-foot-2 guys and down…it was a ridiculous shot."

The Monarchs came close to getting the equalizer in the final minutes, but each of their chances was thwarted by either Downes or junior goalkeeper Billy Thompson, who was scored on for the first time in the playoffs and only the second this month. The Eagles have only allowed 11 goals this season.

Stringer, who's been coaching boys' soccer for 19 year at Mater Dei, was asked by a reporter after the match if he had coached his last soccer game. Stringer, however, did not want to answer the question.

-- Jaime Cardenas

DIVISION II

Semifinals

Peninsula 1, Ventura 0
Hiroki Maeda scored in the eighth minute on an assist by Adolfo Santos for Peninsula (14-6-5), which has yet to give up a goal in four post-season games and now has six shutouts in a row. Ventura ends its season at 22-1-5.

West Torrance 1, Arlington 1 (4-3 PK)
Jaime Lara scored in regulation and Tyler Krumpe, Jonas Guthoff, R.J. Oster and Mitchell O'Gorman made penalty kicks to spark visiting West Torrance (17-3-6), which will play Peninsula.

DIVISION III

Semifinals

La Habra 2, El Rancho 1
Jacob Barron scored the game-winning goal for host La Habra (25-4-1) in the first half. El Rancho fell to 16-5-3.

Saddleback 1, Santa Ynez 0

DIVISION IV

Semifinals

Santa Monica 3, Channel Islands 0
Alessandro Canale scored the first goal and eventual game winner in the 11th minute to lift Santa Monica (25-0-1) to victory over visiting Channel Islands.

Jurupa Valley 0, Kaiser 0 (Jurupa Valley advances, 5-3 on penalties)

DIVISION V

Semifinals

Hesperia 1, Mountain View 0
Oaks Christian 4, Salesian 3 (OT)

DIVISION VI

Semifinals

Arrowhead Christian 2, Desert Hot Springs 1
Josh Phillips and Charles Izydorek scored to lift Arrowhead Christian (23-0-3), with Izydorek scoring the winning goal in the 80th minute. Mitch Wiseman had 12 saves for Arrowhead Christian. Alan Richard scored for Desert Hot Springs (12-6-5).

Desert Mirage 4, Animo 0