When the Eastlake Titans next take the playing surface they will do so as the only unbeaten team among the CIF-Metro Conference’s Sweetwater Union High School District schools.
The Titans skated into the winter break with a 5-0 record – 4-0 in Mesa League play. They are scheduled to put their perfect record on the line when they face the Hilltop Lancers in a Mesa League game on Thursday, Jan. 11. Face-off is 6 p.m. at the Castle Park High School roller rink.
Eastlake closed out the first round of league play with a 12-6 win over the Otay Ranch Mustangs on Dec. 14 at the Castle Park High School roller rink.
The longtime neighborhood rivals were separated by a goal at the end of the first period, with Eastlake leading 3-2. The Titans would spurt ahead 7-2 on the strength of two shorthanded goals on the same shift by sophomore standout Braden Mayer.
But the Mustangs reeled off three consecutive goals by Sean Devaney to narrow the Titan lead to 7-5 late in the second period.
The Titans went on another spurt, however, scoring five unanswered goals – two by Mayer – to jump in front 12-5.
Devaney netted the last goal of the game – his fifth – but it wasn’t enough.
Playing on an undefeated team certainly has boosted everyone’s spirits on the Titans.
“It’s pretty fun being out here, fun messing around with everyone on the team,” said Mayer, who led the Titans with eight points on five goals and three assists. “I honestly didn’t think we’d beat them that badly, then we came out and wrecked them. It felt good.”
Five players tallied points for Eastlake – Mayer with eight, Will Hamilton with three goals and two assists, Luke Killeen with two goals, Jacob Powell with one goal and one assist and Marco Macias with one goal.
Two players picked up points for Otay Ranch – Devaney with five goals and Paul Chavez with one goal.
In rolling to its 5-0 start, the Titans have recorded four wins by 10 or more goals with two shutouts.
“This was definitely a very important win for us,” EHS head coach Richard Haislip said. “They (the Mustangs) have some good players. We had to play to the best of our ability, especially in the second and third periods, to put the game out of reach. We’re looking to forward to facing more challenges ahead.”
Eastlake will host Cathedral Catholic from the North County League in a non-league matchup Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Castle Park High School roller rink.
“That will be a good test for us,” the EHS coach said.
Otay Ranch saw its record drop to 2-2 in league play, 3-2 overall, at the semester break.
Hilltop 3, Castle Park 2 (overtime)
The Mesa League remained extremely competitive after the Lancers tipped the Trojans, 3-2, in overtime on Dec. 14. The teams exchanged leads – Castle Park up 1-0 and Hilltop up 2-1 – before Jacinto Montalvan scored with 2:35 left in the five-minute overtime period to give the Lancers the win.
Martin Mari scored the only goal of the first period, assisted by Eleazar Cruz, to put the Trojans up 1-0.
Hilltop scored the only goal of the second period by Trevor Fune to tie the game 1-1.
The slow pace to the game seemed to benefit the Lancers. Hilltop took a 2-1 lead on a goal by Montalvan, assisted by Isaiah Macias.
However, Cruz netted the game-tying goal, assisted by Mari, with four minutes left to send the game into overtime.
The Trojans seemed to have the better chances at winning the game until Montalvan got possession of a loose puck, skated up the right side and took a sharp angle shot.
“It was just everybody working together and getting shots on net,” Montalvan said in referencing the team effort it took to pull out the victory. “In overtime, it get it there, get it done, if you don’t, you lose.”
The play of Hilltop netminder Victor Guzman was a definite key to the win.
“He’s our god, the best goalie in the district,” Montalvan said.
The victory pushed the Lancers record to 2-2 in league, 3-2 overall, while Castle Park fell to 2-2 in league play, 3-2 overall.
South Bay League standings tighten up at semester break
The final day of action prior to the semester break featured a pair of South Bay League matchups and one non-league game Dec. 15 at the Castle Park High School rink.
Chula Vista 2, Sweetwater 1
The Spartans squeezed out a one-goal victory over the west side rival Red Devils on goals by Adrian Hernandez and Isaiah Pelayo, both assisted by Luciano Gutierrez. Daniel Segura tied the game, 1-1, for Sweetwater.
Pelayo scored the game-winning goal for Chula Vista in the third period.
The Spartans ended the first semester with a 3-1 league record, 3-2 overall; the Red Devils skated into the winter break 1-2 in league, 1-4 overall.
Mar Vista 5, Southwest 1
The Mariners broke a 1-1 tie with four unanswered goals to race to a tie for first place in the league standings (with Chula Vista). Van Brown scored twice for Mar Vista while Adam Yoshinaga, Tiffany O’Neil and Michael Munoz each scored single goals.
Yoshinaga opened scoring in the game but Pedro Crespo tied the score with a goal for Southwest. Brown then followed with a pair of goals to allow the Mariners to jump ahead.
The win boosted Mar Vista’s record to 3-2 overall, 3-1 in league pay, at the semester break. Southwest saw its record dip to 2-3 overall, 2-1 in league play.
Both Chula Vista and Mar Vista hold down first place in the South Bay League standings at the semester break, both with 3-1 league records, followed by Southwest (2-1 in league).
San Ysidro remains at the bottom of the league standings at 0-4 while still searching for its first win.
“It’s always very exciting to see newer players stepping up in a game, seeing the team grow,” MVHS coach Manny Buenrostro said. “I’m very proud of all our players.”
Hilltop 10, San Ysidro 0
The Lancers received three goals from Trevor Fune, two goals and one assist each from Jacob Phillips and Jacinto Montalvan, two goals from Alexis Samaniego and one goal each from Skylar Garces and Giovanni Melendrez (scored while shorthanded).
Mesa League Standings
(Through Dec. 15)
League/Overall
Eastlake Titans 4-0, 5-0
Hilltop Lancers 2-2, 4-2
Castle Park Trojans 2-2, 3-2
Otay Ranch Mustangs 2-2, 3-2
Bonita Vista Barons 0-4, 0-4
South Bay League Standings
(Through Dec. 15)
League/Overall
Chula Vista Spartans 3-1, 3-2
Mar Vista Mariners 3-1, 3-2
Southwest Raiders 2-1, 2-3
Sweetwater Red Devils 1-2, 1-4
San Ysidro Cougars 0-4, 0-5
North County League Standings
(Through Jan. 8)
League/Overall
Rancho Bernardo Broncos 5-0, 5-0
Scripps Ranch Falcons 4-0, 5-0
Westview Wolverines 3-1, 3-1
Cathedral Catholic Dons 2-2, 2-2
Patrick Henry Patriots 2-4, 2-4
Escondido White Tigers 1-4, 1-4
Poway Titans 0-5, 1-5
CIF/Metro Conference Scoreboard
Mesa League
Thursday, Nov. 30
Eastlake 14, Bonita Vista 1
Otay Ranch 11, Hilltop 2
Tuesday, Dec. 5
Eastlake 11, Hilltop 0
Castle Park 13, Bonita Vista 2
Thursday, Dec. 7
Hilltop 5, Bonita Vista 2
Castle Park 7, Otay Ranch 2
Tuesday, Dec. 12
Eastlake 15, Castle Park 5
Otay Ranch defeated Bonita Vista by forfeit
South Bay League
Friday, Dec. 1
Chula Vista 11, San Ysidro 0
Sweetwater vs. Southwest, postponed
Wednesday, Dec. 6
Southwest 1, Chula Vista 0
Mar Vista 7, San Ysidro 0
Friday, Dec. 8
Chula Vista 2, Mar Vista 1
Sweetwater 2, San Ysidro 0
Wednesday, Dec. 13
Mar Vista 6, Sweetwater 2
Southwest 11, San Ysidro 2
Friday, Dec. 15
Chula Vista 2, Sweetwater 1
Mar Vista 5, Southwest 1
Non-League
Friday, Dec. 1
Castle Park 10, Mar Vista 2
Tuesday, Dec. 5
Otay Ranch 11, Southwest 0
Wednesday, Dec. 6
Scripps Ranch 10, Sweetwater 0 (mercy rule)
Friday, Dec. 8
Eastlake 17, Southwest 0
Monday, Dec. 11
Patrick Henry 9, Poway 6
Tuesday, Dec. 12
Hilltop 10, Sweetwater 0 (mercy rule)
Wednesday, Dec. 13
Poway 6, Chula Vista 0
Friday, Dec. 15
Hilltop 10, San Ysidro 0
North County League
Wednesday, Jan. 3
Rancho Bernardo 5, Westview 0
Scripps Ranch 16, Cathedral Catholic 3
Escondido Charter 5, Poway 4
Monday, Jan. 8
Rancho Bernardo 16, Patrick Henry 1
CIF-Metro Conference Scoring Leaders
Sweetwater district teams
(Through Dec. 15)
Luke Killeen (Eastlake) 20 goals, 5 assists – 25 points
Martin Mari (Castle Park) 19 goals, 4 assists – 23 points
Will Hamilton (Eastlake) 15 goals, 8 assists – 23 points
Braden Mayer (Eastlake) 14 goals, 5 assists – 19 points
Eleazar Cruz (Castle Park) 12 goals, 4 assists – 16 points
Trevor Fune (Hilltop) 14 goals, 1 assist – 15 points
Paul Chavez (Otay Ranch) 10 goals, 3 assists – 13 points
Sean Devaney (Otay Ranch) 10 goals, 2 assists – 12 points
Kayleigh Andrew (Southwest) 11 goals, 0 assists – 11 points
Jacinto Montalvan (Hilltop) 7 goals, 3 assists – 10 points
Jake Powell (Eastlake) 5 goals, 5 assists – 10 points
Adrian Hernandez (Chula Vista) 7 goals, 2 assists – 9 points
Lucio Gutierrez (Chula Vista) 5 goals, 4 assists – 9 points
Kevin Eagles (Eastlake) 6 goals, 1 assist – 7 points
Casey Prenatt (Otay Ranch) 3 goals, 2 assists – 5 points
Isaac Suarez (Mar Vista) 5 goals, 0 assists – 5 points
Marco Macias (Eastlake) 5 goals, 0 assists – 5 points
Bryan Suarez (Mar Vista) 4 goals, 0 assists – 4 points
Nick Stark (Bonita Vista) 3 goals, 1 assist – 4 points
Jesus Gonzalez (Castle Park) 3 goals, 1 assist – 4 points
Donovan Lazo (Otay Ranch) 3 goals, 0 assists – 3 points
Van Brown (Mar Vista) 3 goals, 0 assists – 3 points
Adam Yoshinaga (Mar Vista) 3 goals, 0 assists – 3 points
North County League
Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 3)
Matthew Gauthier (Scripps Ranch) 16 goals, 6 assists – 22 points
Miles Cook (Rancho Bernardo) 9 goals, 10 assists – 19 points
Cody Sherman (Scripps Ranch) 7 goals, 10 assists – 17 points
Wesley Rim (Scripps Ranch) 11 goals, 5 assists – 16 points
Cody Ayers (Scripps Ranch) 9 goals, 6 assists – 15 points
Matt Voegel (Patrick Henry) 10 goals, 4 assists – 14 points
Jake Belland (Cathedral Catholic) 10 goals, 4 assists – 14 points
Alex Pang (Rancho Bernardo) 6 goals, 6 assists – 12 points
Cody Ayers (Scripps Ranch) 6 goals, 5 assists – 11 points
Matt Voegel (Patrick Henry) 7 goals, 3 assists – 10 points
Matt Russell (Patrick Henry) 7 goals, 4 assists – 11 points
Michael Little (Poway) 6 goals, 5 assists – 11 points
Lyushen Loshak (Westview) 4 goals, 6 assists – 10 points
Laurent Lee (Westview) 4 goals, 5 assists – 9 points
Ben Goodard (Westview) 6 goals, 2 assists – 8 points
Sam Lathus (Cathedral Catholic) 5 goals, 3 assists – 8 points
Kyle Fraser (Scripps Ranch) 4 goals, 4 assists – 8 points
