Both the Hilltop Lancers and Castle Park Trojans high school boys soccer teams produced highly successful seasons after concluding their respective playoff runs in the San Diego Section semifinals.
While the sting of defeat may still linger a bit, both teams can hold their heads high despite not finishing their end goal of hoisting the CIF championship trophy.
“I am absolutely amazed by my team this year,” Hilltop head coach John Salts said in retrospect. “It was an honor to be their coach on and off the field. These young men continue to impress me with their character, their love for the game and their love for each other.”
“Our senior class left it all on the pitch,” Castle Park head coach Jose Cobian Jr. assessed. “It wasn’t the result we wanted but I couldn’t be more proud of our effort.”
Name of the game
Castle Park, this year’s Mesa League runner-up team, entered this year’s Division III playoffs as the No. 3 seed while Hilltop, this year’s South Bay League champion, was seeded fourth.
Had both teams won their semifinal matches, they would have met in the division championship game Feb. 29 at Mission Bay High School.
But fate had other plans.
Instead, the top-seeded Escondido Cougars edged Hilltop, 4-3, in overtime while the second-seeded Patrick Henry Patriots shaded Castle Park, 1-0, in a pair of tightly played elimination matches on Feb. 25.
In the ensuing championship game, Patrick Henry defeated Escondido, 2-1, in overtime.
There wasn’t much that separated Hilltop and Castle Park from meeting in the final.
The Lancers led Escondido by a score of 3-1 with six minutes to play in regulation but were unable to hold the lead before eventually conceding the game-winning golden goal in overtime.
The game was tied 1-1 at halftime before Hector Lua scored in the opening minutes of the second half to put the visitors ahead on the scoreboard.
Marcos Calderon had scored on a free kick in the first half.
Stunned by the overtime loss, Hilltop concluded an otherwise stellar season with a 20-5-4 overall record, including 7-2-1 in league play.
“I can’t say enough about our season,” Salts said. “I think this is the fifth 20-win season in the 19 years that I’ve been at the school.”
Castle Park ended its season with an overall 10-7-3 record following a 7-2-3 showing in league play.
Patrick Henry’s Ulysses Jimenez scored the game’s lone goal in the first half on a shot placed over the head of the Castle Park goalkeeper. Patriots goalkeeper Aaron Jimenez, Ulysses’s brother, recorded the shutout win at the other end of the pitch.
“It was a really hard-fought match,” said Cobian, whose team listed eight seniors on its 19-man roster. “We made a few adjustments in the second half and the game was more even. We had our opportunities. Their kid made a perfect shot.”
Both the Lancers and Trojans advanced to the semifinals with exciting quarterfinal-round victories.
Castle Park defeated sixth-seeded Grossmont, 3-1, in a game played Feb. 21 at Swift Stadium while Hilltop held off a hard-charging 12th-seeded Monte Vista team, 2-0, on the same evening.
Both East County teams entered the quarterfinal matchups riding the momentum of dominating wins in the first round. Grossmont defeated 11th-seeded Mt. Carmel, 3-1, while Monte Vista recorded the first stunner of the playoffs with a 6-0 win at fifth-seeded Mission Bay.
But the season for the Grossmont Valley League teams ended in the next round.
The Foothillers (17-5-4) were forced to play from behind almost immediately when the host Trojans were awarded a penalty kick just four minutes into the game.
Senior Ivan Garduno converted the spot kick for a quick 1-0 lead. The teams combined for three goals in the second half, with Castle Park adding strikes by Garduno and senior Roberto Parra while junior Nick Collantes, assisted by senior Jackson Endres, scored the lone goal for Grossmont.
Sophomore Oswaldo Padilla recorded the goalkeeper victory for Castle Park.
Senior Axel Gonzalez scored two goals for the Foothillers in their opening-round win over the Sundevils while Endres tallied once. Senior Fernando Lara picked up two assists in support of winning goalkeeper Caden McCulloch.
Despite the quarterfinal ouster, Grossmont had to be thrilled with its season after finishing just 2-11-6 last year and failing to qualify for the playoffs.
“We exceeded our expectations by far,” said Foothillers head coach Jeff Harns, whose team loses 12 seniors. “We met our goals. “Top two in league was a nice accomplishment. We never imagined 17 wins and a deep run into the playoffs.”
Monte Vista advanced to last year’s Division IV championship game, placing second to Mission Vista by a score of 3-2. The Spring Valley team turned in an otherwise stellar season in 2019-20 while moving up a competition tier with a final 16-7-3 record.
The Monarchs roared like a lion in their game against Hilltop.
The Lancers notched the game’s opening goal in the fifth minute of play by senior Gael Ruiz. Afterward the visitors began attacking in waves with undying energy.
The match was stopped for 23 minutes due to an injury but resumed with Monte Vista maintaining the momentum.
The game proved to be one of inches filled with missed opportunities for the Monarchs.
A Monte Vista player hit the post in the 54th minute to just miss tying the match at a goal apiece.
Senior Pablo Farias doubled the Hilltop lead in the 57th minute against the run of play. The visitors were soon back on the attack.
Hilltop junior goalkeeper Erik Acosta made two saves while lying on his back in the waning moments of the match to preserve the playoff win.
Acosta was credited with 15 saves.
Salts gave a compliment where it was due. “They didn’t play like the 12th-seed,” the Lancer coach noted. “They played more like the No. 1 or No. 2 seed. We knew this match was going to be tough.
“We got a lot of bounces. The second half we played strong defense. We didn’t lose focus. We kept up the fight.”
“They did a good job of keeping us off the scoreboard,” Monte Vista head coach Kyle Hewitt said. “I think if we had scored, we might have scored two or three goals in the game.”
Senior Patient Amuri ran all over the field for the Monarchs while creating numerous scoring opportunities.
He led Monte Vista with three goals in the first-round win over the Bucs (10-3-5) while junior Alejandro Calzada scored two goals. Senior Giovanni Velazquez recorded three assists while senior Juan Castillo picked up two assists.
Velazquez set a school record with 23 goals in 23 regular season games.
Ruiz topped Hilltop in scoring with 31 goals and 13 assists in 23 game appearances. Defensively, the Lancers — braced by Acosta in the net — allowed an average of 1.08 goals per game this season.
“Erik has always been an amazing talented goalkeeper, but he was next level this year,” Salts lauded. “Erik had the same type of game in the semifinals that he had in the quarterfinal game.”
Hilltop loses 16 seniors off its roster to graduation.
Eight Metro teams advance to state regional playoffs
The way the current state playoffs are structured, both division finalists in the San Diego Section boys and girls basketball playoffs earn berths in the Southern California regionals while the section division champion in boys and girls soccer does so.
Eight South County teams received seeds in this year’s state regionals: two boys basketball teams, three girls basketball teams, one boys soccer team and two girls soccer teams.
Four of them advanced past the first round, with three teams ending their seasons in the semifinals.
Boys basketball
Metro Conference teams earning berths in the SoCal regionals included Division III champion San Ysidro and Open Division quarterfinalist Mater Dei Catholic.
San Ysidro received the No. 7 seed and eliminated 10th-seeded Los Angeles View Park, 69-48, in a first-round game on March 3. The Cougars’ two freshmen stars lit up the scoreboard with Mikey Williams pouring in 27 points and Jurian Dixon jamming home 24 points.
Williams and senior Jason Martinez both pulled down 13 rebounds in the game.
However, the South Bay League champions (25-9) were not able to get past second-seeded Palisades in their next game on March 5, coming up short 56-49 despite 21 points from Williams, 14 points from Dixon and 13 rebounds from Martinez.
Williams sank seven three pointers in the two regional playoff games.
Mesa League champion Mater Dei Catholic, which was bounced 65-60 by second-seeded St. Augustine in the Open Division playoffs, received the No. 10 seed in the Division II regionals to continue its season. However, the Crusaders’ state odyssey lasted one game after bowing out following a 62-48 loss at seventh-seeded L.A. King/Drew.
Girls basketball
After being eliminated in the Open Division quarterfinals by top-seeded (and eventual division champion) La Jolla Country Day, Mater Dei Catholic (20-10) found new life as the No. 6 seed in the Division II regionals. The Lady Crusaders made the most of the opportunity by winning their opening two playoff games before ending their season in the regional semifinals.
Mater Dei Catholic topped 11th-seeded L.A. Hamilton, 81-78, on March 3 behind 24 points from senior Marissa Sanchez, 20 points from junior Kayanna Spriggs and 18 points from junior Teanna Alaman. Spriggs recorded a team high 19 rebounds in the win.
The Lady Crusaders, the runner-up team in the Mesa League standings, pulled off a stunning 70-64 upset at third-seeded Bakersfield in quarterfinal-round play on March 5. Freshman Jade Webb paced visitors with 22 points while Alaman dropped in 19 points. Sanchez scored 17 points while Webb led the winners with 10 rebounds and three steals.
However, the upstart Lady Crusaders could not advance farther following a 60-55 loss to second-seeded Palisades. Sanchez paced Mater Dei Catholic with 15 points while Webb and Spriggs both scored 12 points.
The Lady Crusaders stayed in the game with 32 rebounds — 12 by junior Niala Mitchell and 10 by Spriggs.
Palisades (26-9) defeated fourth-seeded Santa Monica, 51-36, to win the SoCal regional championship game.
Spriggs led Mater Dei Catholic with a 15.4 season scoring average while Sanchez (13.1 ppg) ranked second on the team. Spriggs also a averaged 13.1 rebounds per game.
Mesa League champion Bonita Vista, which dropped a narrow 48-46 decision to LJCD in the Open Division semifinals, received the No. 9 seed in the Division I regionals and was eliminated, 66-59, in the first round by eighth-seeded Orangewood Academy.
The Lady Barons (10-0 in league play) concluded an otherwise stellar season with a final 21-10 record.
Division II runner-up Otay Ranch (25-9) finished 1-1 in the Division IV regionals as the No. 11 seed. The Lady Mustangs upset sixth-seeded North Hollywood Campbell Hall, 58-50, in the opening round, then ended their season with a 57-46 loss at third-seeded La Salle in the quarterfinals.
Girls soccer
Mesa League champion Eastlake (21-7-1) received the No. 2 seed in the Division II regionals after bowing, 1-0, to top-seeded Cathedral Catholic in the Open Division semifinals. The Lady Titans defeated seventh-seeded Capistrano Valley, 2-1, in the quarterfinals on March 3 but were eliminated in a 1-0 home field loss to third-seeded Oak Hills in the semifinals.
Oak Hills (24-5) blanked fifth-seeded La Mirada, 2-0, to win the regional title.
Eastlake defeated Torrey Pines, 2-0, in a state seeding game on Feb. 27 on goals by senior Olivia Sekimoto and junior Brooklyn Daley. Junior Leilani Pomatto made seven saves to record the shutout win.
Division III champion Otay Ranch (15-6-3) received the No. 7 seed in the Division III regionals and advanced to the semifinals on the strength of a shootout win over second-seeded Torrance South in the first round.
The regional quarterfinal was tied, 1-1, through overtime before the Lady Mustangs won 3-2 in the penalty kicks from the mark tiebreaker. Itzel Sanchez-Pineda, Ilucion Duron, Emma Gaines-Ramos and Ashley Gomez all received credit for goals in the marathon win, shootout included.
But Otay Ranch ended its season with a 1-0 loss at third-seeded Oxnard in the regional semifinals.
Oxnard (24-3-2) went on to claim the regional championship with a 2-1 win over top-seeded Chaminade.
Boys soccer
Mater Dei Catholic, the section’s Division IV boys champion, received the No. 4 seed in the Division IV regionals but could not get past fifth-seeded Hesperia Oak Hills while absorbing a 2-1 home loss. The Crusaders ended their season 18-4-1.
