CIF soccer playoffs kick off with Open Division tilts for Eastlake

Eastlake's Adrian Reyes (7) is defended by Castle Park's Ivan Garduno in a Mesa League game earlier this season. Photo by Phillip Brents

Earning a berth in the San Diego Section’s elite Open Division playoffs has been a goal for teams competing in the San Diego Section playoffs. It not only carries enormous prestige value but it provides a more accessible avenue to the state playoffs.

Both the boys and girls soccer teams at Eastlake High School gained admission to this year’s section soccer playoffs in a double twist of fortune.

The EHS girls team received the No. 4 seed while the EHS boys team received the No. 8 seed.

The Open Division playoffs consist of eight teams with a three-round format.

Quarterfinal-round play kicked off Tuesday (Feb. 20) for girls teams; boys teams will kick off quarterfinal play on Wednesday (Feb. 21).

The Lady Titans earned a berth in next Tuesday’s semifinals (Feb. 27) after defeating fifth-seeded La Jolla, 3-1, in Tuesday’s home field playoff match.

Eastlake’s girls team is returning to familiar territory. The Lady Titans won last year’s Division I championship.

EHS coach Mark Coziahr feels the move up to the Open Division this season will not hurt his team’s chances of bringing another CIF championship banner to showcase at the east side Chula Vista school.

“I feel that this is the most even group of teams — one through eight — that I have seen,” he said. “Any of the teams in the Open Division could win it all this year.  That was evident with the top three seeds all losing last night at home.”

Indeed, parity struck a chord in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.

Eighth-seeded West Hills defeated top-seeded Torrey Pines, 1-0, while seventh-seeded Steele Canyon defeated second-seeded Carlsbad 5-3. Sixth-seeded Poway eclipsed third-seeded Cathedral Catholic by a score of 2-1.

Torrey Pines entered the playoffs with an imposing 16-1-6 record.

The Lady Titans (17-5-3) are the highest remaining seeded-team remaining in the division and will hold home field advantage over West Hills (10-10-4) in next Tuesday’s semifinals (Feb. 27).

“We are playing well as a team and excited for this year’s playoffs,” Coziahr said. “We scheduled a very difficult preseason schedule against many of the best teams from the San Diego and Southern sections and it is paying off.”

Top players this season include Gloriana Hinajosa, the Mesa League Player of the Year, who has committed to play at UC-Irvine at the next level, along with first team all-league selections Jenny Pham (committed to UC Irvine) and Krista Eberle (committed to UNLV).

Makenzie Kimmel, who was injured for much of the season, has since returned to the lineup has made a huge impact. She has committed to continuing her soccer career at the Air Force Academy.

Kimmel was one of three players to score in Tuesday’s playoff victory.

Sophomore Taylor Summit paced the Lady Titans in regular season scoring with four goals and seven assists. Junior Britney Buu ranked second with five goals and two assists, followed by Pham with three goals and four assists and sophomore Olivia Sekimoto with four goals and one assist.

Eastlake, which finished 9-1-2 in Mesa League play, takes a 14-4-4 overall record into this year’s San Diego Section Open Division playoffs. Photo by Phillip Brents

Clash of the Titans
Eastlake’s boys team faces a bit more of a challenge in taking on top-seeded Torrey Pines in Wednesday’s quarterfinal opener in Del Mar. The Falcons, the top-ranked team in California, are 20-0-5.

The Titans, the runner-up team in this year’s Mesa League standings, are 14-4-4 and riding a two-game winning streak.

Torrey Pines tied, 1-1, with rival La Costa Canyon in its final regular season match.

“This will be an extremely tough test but the team matches up very well and if we can play mistake-free soccer, we will have a great chance a beating them,” EHS coach Jason Renfro said. “To win CIF it will take all that I mentioned and a few breaks to go our way.

“We’re strong team and I believe we are tough to play against. As long as we execute, we will go far in CIF.”

Eastlake has ridden the scoring prowess of senior Samay Rahim this season. Rahim tops the Titans in scoring with 19 goals and eight assists. Next up in the scoring column for Eastlake is senior Adrian Reyes with six goals and five assists.

The Titans are averaging 2.1 goals per match on offense and 1.2 goals per match on defense.

Goalkeepers Parker Merrifield (1.10 goals-against average) and Ismael Solis (1.35 goals-against average) have been solid as the proverbial last men on defense.

Eastlake led the league standings until the final week of the season before undergoing a 1-1-2 downturn in a series of five matches that dropped the Titans behind Southwest.

Southwest defeated visiting Eastlake, 1-0, on Feb. 9 in a key matchup between the top team teams in the league standings. The Titans tied Bonita Vista (1-1) and Castle Park (2-2) prior to the game at Southwest.

Eastlake got back on the winning track with a 3-2 win at Montgomery on Feb. 12 and a 2-0 win against visiting Chula Vista on Feb. 14.

“Southwest had a great season and credit goes to them for not dropping points,” Renfro said.

Renfro called Rahim’s senior campaign “amazing.”

“He will be looked upon to carry the team through CIF,” the EHS coach said. “He is our captain and he makes everyone around him better.

“Senior Adrian Reyes is unbelievably skilled and can cover so much space defensively and his free-kicks are special.”

Renfro said he is counting on all team members, however, to contribute in the playoffs.

“Senior Isaac Cass and Johnny McCann both play center-midfield and they control the tone inside and distribute the ball in the attack,” the EHS coach noted.

“Junior Tyler Sherard is our other captain who is a rock solid defender.  Tyler has a great all-around game but his passion is defending.

“Sophomore Danny Martinez and Greg Martinez each are so good in the attack. They complement each other very well with size and pace.

“Sophomore Eric Allen has been getting a lot of minutes defensively.  He’s been very steady and physical as a sophomore and he will only improve.”

Quarterfinal winners advance to next Wednesday’s semifinals (Feb. 28).

Semifinal losers will play a state playoff seeding match at the site of the higher-seeded team — March 1 for girls teams and March 2 for boys teams.

Castle Park defeated visiting Montgomery, 3-2, in a late season match to advance its seeding position in this year’s San Diego Section playoffs. Castle Park is seeded fourth in the Division II field. Montgomery is seeded eighth in the Division I field. Photo by Phillip Brents

Around South County
Southwest (17-5-3) received the No. 1 seed in the Division II bracket and will host the winner of Wednesday’s opening round match between eighth-seeded Chula Vista (10-10-3) and ninth-seeded Orange Glen (9-6-3) in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

The Raiders finished 10-1-1 in Mesa League play as league champions and enter the playoffs with a three-game winning streak. Southwest lost, 4-2, at Eastlake on Jan. 17 but has gone undefeated since then with an impressive 9-0-1 mark.

The Raiders’ only blemish in their last 10 matches is a 1-1 tie at Montgomery on Feb. 7.

Overall, this year’s Division II bracket features four Metro Conference teams: Southwest, Chula Vista, Castle Park and Bonita Vista.

Castle Park (11-8-4) received the No. 4 seed in the division while Bonita Vista (11-8-4) received the No. 5 seed.

Bonita Vista was scheduled to host a first-round game against  Calexico on Wednesday.

Castle Park will host the winner of Wednesday’s match in the quarterfinals on Feb. 24.

Sweetwater (14-5-2) received the No. 2 seed in the Division IV playoffs and will host either seventh-seeded Mission Vista (5-10-2) or 10th-seeded Health Sciences (11-7-2) in a quarterfinal match on Feb. 24.

The Red Devils finished 7-3 in South Bay League matches this year.

South Bay League champion Otay Ranch (14-1-4) received the No. 3 seed in the Division III playoffs while Mater Dei Catholic (5-11-4) was seeded 10th in the same field.

The Mustangs topped the South Bay League standings with a 9-0-1 record.

Montgomery (4-12-3) received the No. 8 seed in the Division I playoffs while San Ysidro (4-12-1) was seeded 10th in the same field. St. Augustine (7-6-4) is the division’s top seed.

Montgomery will host ninth-seeded Mission Hills (6-12-4) in a first-round game on Wednesday (Feb. 21).

For complete playoff brackets, visit the website at www.cifsds.org.

 

 

Neighborhood rivalry match provides CIF playoff preview for Trojans, Aztecs

Neighborhood rivals Castle Park and Montgomery paired up for a late season encounter on Feb. 9, with the host Trojans pulling out a 3-2 win on a goal by Ivan Garduno in the waning minutes of what proved to be an exciting match between the teams.

Montgomery won last year’s San Diego Section Division II championship and made the move up to the Division I tier this season.

Castle Park, which did not qualify for last season’s CIF playoffs, nonetheless received a bump up from the Division III to the Division II tier this season.

Both teams seemed to elevate their play for neighborhood bragging rights and get in the right mindset for the upcoming playoffs.

Both teams received top-half playoff seeds in their respective divisions — Castle Park at No. 4 and Montgomery at No. 8.

Manny Guardado opened scoring for the Trojans in the Feb. 9 Mesa League game, followed by a game-tying goal by Montgomery’s Julian Moreno.

Castle Park took a 2-1 lead on a goal by Emilio Luna. But the visiting Aztecs tied the match at 2-2 on a goal by Zack Cobian, nephew of CPHS head coach Jose Cobian Jr.

A league championship was not on the line for either team, but both teams played hard.

The fast-paced game featured an emotional finish. In a show of sportsmanship, Montgomery players, despite suffering a disappointing loss in the final minutes, applauded the Castle Park fans at the conclusion of the game.

“A lot of these kids grew up playing together, so naturally there is a friendly rivalry between them whenever they have the chance to play each other, when it’s for their school and for neighborhood bragging rights,” the CPHS coach said.

The win elevated the Trojans’ season record to 11-7-4 and their league record to 4-5-2.

Meanwhile, the loss dropped the Aztecs to 4-10-3 on the season, 3-4-3 in league play.

Montgomery finished 18-4-4 last season en route to winning a division championship and advancing three rounds into the state regional playoffs.

The Aztecs lost five seniors from that prosperous 2017-18 squad.

“It’s been tough (this season),” Montgomery assistant coach Samantha Morales admitted. “But I think our team is starting to come together at the right time of the season.”

The Aztecs topped ninth-seeded Mission Hills, 4-3, in two overtimes in its playoff opener. The teams had played through a scoreless regulation contest and a scoreless first overtime period.

Montgomery advances to the division quarterfinals at top-seeded St. Augustine (7-6-4) on Saturday, Feb. 24.

Castle Park hosts 12th-seeded Calexico (14-6-3) in a quarterfinal match on Saturday. Game time is 5 p.m.

Calexico upset fifth-seeded Bonita Vista, 2-0, in Wednesday’s opening round.

 

Mesa League Standings
(Final Regular Season)

Southwest Raiders 10-1-1
Eastlake Titans 9-1-2
Bonita Vista Barons 4-5-3
Castle Parj Trojans 4-6-2
Montgomery Atecs 3-6-3
San Ysidro Cougars 3-8-1
Chula Vista Spartans 3-9-0

 

South Bay League Standings
(Final Regular Season)

Otay Ranch Mustangs 9-0-1
Sweetwater Red Devils 7-3-0
Mater Dei Catholic 4-4-2
Olympian Eagles 4-6-0
Hilltop Lancers 2-8-0
Mar Vista Mariners 2-7-1

 

Lady Trojans receive No. 1 playoff seed, hope for repeat of history

When the Castle Park High School girls soccer team received the top seed in this year’s San Diego Section Division IV playoffs, it was a first for head coach Victor Vargas.

“In 2015 when we won CIF, I believe our seed was No. 8,” Vargas recalled.

The Lady Trojans (14-6-4) will host eighth-seeded Mountain Empire (16-2-2) in Friday’s quarterfinal-round match. Kick-off is 5 p.m.

“It’s been a grueling season,” Vargas admitted. “We have played 24 games prior to the CIF quarterfinal.  We had our captain Emily Cortes tear her ACL and at least three different players have a concussion during these hard fought games.

“I was a bit surprised that we were seeded first since we were second (in the rankings) for about two weeks before attending the meeting for CIF seeding.

“I was told we jumped Pacific Ridge, which was No. 1, because we beat them head-to-head in the Lady Vaqueros tournament that we won in December.

“It’s nice to have home field advantage but being No. 1 also puts a target on your back.  I am hoping the girls can take advantage of this opportunity to make history again.”

 

 

Girls soccer scoreboard

Tuesday, Feb. 20
Open Division
(4) Eastlake 3, (5) La Jolla 1

Division II
(9) Westview 3, (8) Bonita Vista 0
(6) Olympian 3, (11) Francis Parker 2

Division III
(12) La Jolla Country Day 3, (5) Mar Vista 2

Division IV
(5) Ramona 5, (12) San Ysidro 0
(1) Castle Park (bye)
(3) Mater Dei Catholic (bye)

Division V
(3) Chula Vista Learning Community Charter (bye)
(4) Sweetwater (bye)

Girls soccer schedule
Friday, Feb. 23
Open Division

(8) West Hills (10-10-4) at (4) Eastlake (17-5-3), 5 p.m.

Division II
(6) Olympian (14-7-5) at (3) Del Norte (12-5-5), 5 p.m.

Division IV
(8) Mountain Empire (16-2-2) at (1) Castle Park (14-6-4), 5 p.m.
(6) Calexico (12-6-5) at (3) Mater Dei Catholic (13-5-2), 5 p.m.

Division V
(5) Liberty Charter (13-2-3) at (4) Sweetewater (8-9-2), 5 p.m.
(6) River Valley (12-6-1) at (3) Chula Vista Learning Community Charter (7-5-3), TBA

 

Boys soccer scoreboard

Wednesday, Feb. 21
Open Division

(1) Torrey Pines 3, (8) Eastlake 1

Division I
(8) Montgomery 4, (9) Mission Hills 3 (2OT)
(7) Rancho Bernardo 3, (12) San Ysidro 0

Division II
(8) Chula Vista 5, (9) Orange Glen 4
(12) Calexico 2, (5) Bonita Vista 0
(1) Southwest (bye)
(4) Castle Park (bye)

Division III
(7) Grossmont 3, (10) Mater Dei Catholic 0
(3) Otay Ranch (bye)

Division IV
(2) Sweetwater (bye)

Division V
(8) El Capitan 10, (9) Bayfront Charter 0
(5) Classical Academy 3, (12) Ocean View Christian Academy 0
(7) High Tech High Chula Vista 11, (10) Mountain Empire 0
(2) Calvary Christian Academy

 

Boys soccer schedule
Saturday, Feb. 24
Division I

(8) Montgomery (5-12-3) at (1) St. Augustine (7-6-4), 2 p.m.

Division II
(8) Chula Vista (11-10-3) at (1) Southwest (17-5-3), 5 p.m.
(12) Calexico (14-6-3) at (4) Castle Park (11-8-4), 5 p.m.

Division II
(11) Patrick Henry (7-9-4) at (3) Otay Ranch (14-1-4), 5 p.m.

Division IV
(7) Mission Vista (6-10-2) at (2) Sweetwater (14-5-2), 5 p.m.

Division V
(7) High Tech High Chula Vista (9-11-1) vs. (2) Calvary Christian Academy (15-3-1) at Sweetwater Lane Sports Complex, 2 p.m.