League realignment promotes balance for local prep soccer teams

The local high school soccer season has kicked off with some decidedly different league pairings. It’s part of the Metro Conference’s overall league realignment based on the San Diego Section’s power rankings for playoff seeding.

For those used to how things were done, with leagues based on a strong geographic context, it might take some time to get used to.

South Bay League membership in boys soccer is definitely eclectic this season with Montgomery, Bonita Vista, Castle Park, Mar Vista, Olympian and Sweetwater all placed in the realigned playing circuit.

Castle Park and Sweetwater competed in the Metro-Pacific League last season. Bonita Vista and Olympian competed in the Metro-Mesa League last season. Montgomery and Mar Vista competed in the Metro-South Bay League last season.

None of the six teams won league championships in their respective leagues last season, so the race will be on to claim supremacy in the new South Bay League.

“I understand what they’re trying to do with establishing parity within the leagues,” explained Olympian head coach Sergio Villalva, whose team battled to a 1-1 tie at Castle Park in the teams’ league opener on Tuesday. “I can see some new rivalries starting and rekindling some old rivalries.”

Castle Park head coach Jose Cobian Jr. echoed much of what Villalva said, adding, “We welcome all teams regardless of which league they are in. We’re definitely up for the challenge.”

Tuesday’s game proved to be a challenge in determining a winner. David Kay scored in the opening minutes of the game, assisted by Jesus Luna, to put Olympian ahead 1-0. Turnabout proved fair play when Castle Park’s Bryan Lemus, assisted by Mauro Estolano, scored 10 minutes into the second half to knot the score 1-1.

Both teams had numerous chances to net the go-ahead goal in the balance of the second half but the game remained deadlocked due to the fine play of the goalkeepers from the opposing teams.

Sebastian Zertuche was credited with seven saves for Castle Park while Humberto Gonzalez was credited with four saves for Olympian.

Olympian was especially dominant in the first half.

“We like to attack,” Villalva stated. “We’re an attacking team, very quick, we like to pass and take a lot of shots. We didn’t finish today, but so far, it’s worked out for us.

“Today was a tough game. We let our guard down in the second half and they scored, and it changed the dynamics of the game.”

Castle Park was unlucky not to score the go-ahead goal in the final minutes of the contest.

“We started out very slow (and) you could tell Olympian wanted it from the beginning,” Cobian explained. “At halftime we talked about playing with pride at home and made some adjustments.

“We’ve been battling some injuries. We’re down a few players. But these guys are fighting hard. We’ll get better.”

The realigned South Bay League looks to be highly competitive. Montgomery entered league play with a 7-1-1 non-league record, followed by Mar Vista at 6-1-0, Olympian at 5-3-1, Sweetwater at 6-7-1, Bonita Vista at 2-3-3 and Castle Park at 2-4-2.

Castle Park, Olympian, Bonita Vista, Montgomery and Mar Vista are all looking up at Sweetwater in the league standings after the Red Devils defeated Mar Vista, 2-1, on Tuesday and Bonita Vista and Montgomery finished in a 1-1 tie.

Cornerkicks
This year’s Mesa League lineup includes Chula Vista, Eastlake, Hilltop, Mater Dei Catholic, Otay Ranch, San Ysidro and Southwest. One could call it the Metro’s Group of Death with three league champions from last year all included in the same league this year.

Mater Dei Catholic won last year’s Metro-Mesa League championship while Hilltop won last year’s Metro-Mesa League title and San Ysidro won last year’s Metro-South Bay League banner.

In league matches on Tuesday, Mater Dei Catholic defeated host Hilltop, 3-1, while Southwest and Otay Ranch finished in a 1-1 draw. Eastlake edged visiting San Ysidro, 1-0, on a second-half goal by Sebastian Martinez. Andres Rovira made 14 saves to record the shutout win.

Girls soccer preview: league titles up for grabs

The realigned South Bay League features seven teams this season while the Mesa League includes six teams. Balance is the hoped-for word for both leagues.

Favorites?

Mar Vista carried a 10-2-2 overall record into Tuesday’s South Bay League opener at Sweetwater while Montgomery carried an 8-0-2 overall record into Tuesday’s league opener at Mater Dei Catholic.

Mar Vista grabbed the early lead in the league standings after defeating Sweetwater, 2-0, in Tuesday’s league opener. Giselle Medina and Brianna Sanchez each scored goals for the Lady Mariners while goalkeeper Andrea Kumano made three saves to record the shutout victory.

The six teams in the Mesa League this season include Bonita Vista, Eastlake, Chula Vista, Otay Ranch, Olympian and Southwest.

League play kicked off Jan. 3 with Bonita Vista recording a 2-0 shutout win over host Olympian and Eastlake recording a 1-0 win over visiting Otay Ranch.

Chula Vista defeated visiting Olympian, 4-1, on Jan. 5.

Eastlake improved to 6-4-2 following its 5-2 non-league win at Rancho Buena Vista on Jan. 5 and Tuesday’s scoreless tie at Olympian.

Otay Ranch entered the week 6-4-0 overall, while Southwest was 5-1-2, Bonita Vista was 2-5-3 and Chula Vista was 2-5-1.

Stir the pot and it will be interesting to see which team or teams come out on top.

Bonita Vista won last year’s Metro-Mesa League championship with a 6-1-1 league record, followed closely by Eastlake with a 5-1-2 record and Olympian with a 4-3-1 record.

Chula Vista finished runner-up in last year’s Metro-Pacific League standings with a 3-1-2 league record while Southwest captured last year’s Metro-South Bay League title with a 4-2-0 league record.

Eastlake finished 2-1-1 in late December’s North Orange County Classic tournament and 1-2-0 at the Butch Lee tournament earlier in the month.

Barons Cup
The Bonita Vista High School Girls Soccer Barons Cup tournament, the longest-running high school girls soccer tournament in San Diego, held its 2016 finals Dec. 10.

The tournament, which kicked off in 1982, held semifinals and finals in seven divisions to mark its latest edition.
Playoffs and finals took place at Bonita Vista (three fields), Sweetwater and Eastlake high schools.

Eastlake blanked Cathedral Catholic, 5-0, to capture the Frosh Division championship. The Lady Titans defeated Mt. Carmel, 4-0, in the division semifinals to advance to the title game.

Grossmont defeated East County rival Granite Hills in kicks from the mark after the teams had tied 1-1 to win the Varsity Division Flight 1 title.

Top-seeded Granite Hills defeated fourth-seeded Coronado, 4-0, in the semifinals while third-seeded Grossmont shut out second-seeded Valhalla 4-0.

Grossmont’s Chloe Cameraro earned the division MVP award.

Fourth-seeded Our Lady of Peace, led by division MVP Ashlin Healy, defeated second-seeded El Capitan in the Varsity Division Flight 2 final.

Top-seeded San Dieguito Academy won a kicks from the mark overtime tiebreaker over third-seeded Mission Bay to capture the Varsity Division Flight 3 championship title.

Three flights of finals were also held in the junior varsity finals.

Top-seeded Torrey Pines shut out third-seeded Westview, 2-0, to win the Flight 1 title while third seeded Rancho Bernardo upset top-seeded Cathedral Catholic to win the Flight 2 championship. Third-seeded San Dieguito Academy blanked top-seeded Point Loma, 3-0, to win the Flight 3 title.

Southwest earned the No. 3 seed in the Varsity Division Flight 2 semifinals but lost, 3-0, to second-seeded El Capitan.
Mar Vista (second seed) and San Ysidro (fourth seed) both advanced to the Varsity Division Flight 3 semifinals. Third-seeded Mission Bay defeated Mar Vista, 1-0, while top-seeded SDA recorded a 10-0 win over San Ysidro to advance to the championship game.

Bonita Vista earned the No. 2 seed in the JV Division Flight 1 semifinals but dropped a 1-0 decision to third-seeded Westview.

Hilltop received the No. 2 seed in the JV Division Flight 3 semifinals but lost, 2-0, to eventual division champion SDA.

Metro Conference
Boys Soccer Standings
(Through Tuesday, Jan. 10)

Mesa League
Otay Ranch 2-0-1, 3-5-2
Southwest 1-0-1, 4-4-3
Eastlake 1-1-0, 5-5-1
Chula Vista 1-1-0, 2-8-1
San Ysidro 1-2-0, 4-6-1
Mater Dei Catholic 1-2-0, 2-8-2
Hilltop 0-1-0, 4-3-3

South Bay League
Sweetwater 1-0-0, 7-6-1
Montgomery 0-0-1, 7-1-2
Olympian 0-0-1, 5-3-2
Bonita Vista 0-0-1, 2-3-4
Castle Park 0-0-1, 2-4-3
Mar Vista 0-1-0, 6-2-0

Metro Conference
Girls Soccer Standings
(Through Tuesday, Jan. 10)

Mesa League
Bonita Vista 2-0-0, 3-5-3
Eastlake 1-0-1, 6-4-2
Otay Ranch 1-0-1, 7-4-0
Chula Vista 1-0-0, 2-5-2
Southwest 0-1, 5-2-2
Olympian 0-2-1, 0-10-2