Eastlake sees undefeated season end in disappointing playoff loss

SOUTHWEST (DIVISION I), OLYMPIAN (DIVISION IV) ADVANCE TO CIF BOYS SOCCER FINALS

05/27/2021

web.EL7cover_8200 — Eastlake senior Mizael Gonzalez sweeps the ball past a Calexico defender in last Saturday's San Diego Section Division II boys quarterfinal playoff match. Photo by Phillip Brents

The so-called beautiful game can be ugly at times.

The Eastlake Titans, newly crowned Mesa League champions, discovered that in last Saturday’s San Diego Section Division II boys quarterfinal playoff match against the seventh-seeded Calexico Bulldogs.

The Titans carried a history-making undefeated 15-0-1 record into the elimination game and, in the words of head coach Giovanni Medina, appeared “destined for something special this season.”

The contest expected to be challenging with the Bulldogs carrying a formidable 13-4-1 record into the match following a 2-1 overtime victory against 10th-seeded Sweetwater, the runner-up in the South Bay League standings, in the opening round of the playoffs.

Soccer might be one of the few sports where the line is often blurred between winning and losing, where the underdog team can find its place in destiny when all the intangibles are taken into consideration.

“We had a magical season,” Medina said. “But in the playoffs, it’s one game. It’s hard to win when you’re undefeated, when you go 16, 17 games without losing a game.”

The Titans’ foray into this year’s section playoffs lasted one game following an exasperating 1-0 loss to the Bulldogs.

“We had our opportunities, but we didn’t put them away,” Medina said. “It happens.”

The loss stings for the 14 listed seniors on the Eastlake roster.

The game clearly belonged to Calexico goalkeeper Dieter Beltran.

The Bulldog netminder came up huge with two stops on potential Eastlake goals in the opening 10 minutes of the match.

Calexico managed to keep the slate even through the first half and took a surprise 1-0 lead on a long shot by Bill Sanchez from near the touchline with six minutes elapsed in the second half.

The ball kept rising and floated over the outstretched hands of EHS senior goalkeeper Anree Bogart into the very top far corner of the net.

It was absolutely perfectly placed.

The Titans kept pushing but so did the Bulldog midfield and defense — as well as Beltran — to keep the hosts at bay.

Beltran knocked down a rising shot with 11 minutes left in regulation play that seemed to be ticketed for the upper reaches of the net. His cat-like nature served him well.

The ending to the game was as dramatic as it was suspenseful.

Eastlake received the benefit of a penalty kick call on what proved to be the final play of the match.

Junior Jack Gominiak lined up to take the spot kick.

If the shot went in, the game would extend into a 15-minute sudden-victory overtime period.

It the shot didn’t go in, well, the match — and the Titans’ season — was over.

Gominiak struck the ball firmly on approach, Beltran made the save and made a second save as the live ball squirted back to Gominiak’s feet.

Beltran dove a second time to snatch the ball off the foot of another Titans closing in for a shot.

The referee blew his whistle almost immediately after Beltran covered the loose ball.

“I just wanted to stay calm,” the Calexico netminder said. “I had a whole city on the back. I’m a senior. I didn’t want it to be my last game.”

Tears were obviously shed on both sides of the field.

“Wonderful season,” Bogart said succinctly. “It ended too soon.”

CIF SOCCER FINALS: RAIDER NATION

Fourth-seeded Southwest (10-3-4) defeated eighth-seeded Poway, 2-0, in Wednesday’s Division I boys semifinals to advance to Saturday’s championship game against second-seeded Rancho Bernardo (7-6-2).

Game time is at 7:30 p.m. at Mission Bay High School.

Southwest shut out fifth-seeded Coronado, 4-0, in the preceding quarterfinals behind two goals by Ivan Gomez and single tallies by Xavier Monge and Daniel Barragan.

Both the Raiders boys and girls team will play in division championship games this weekend.

Olympian’s boys team, top-seeded in the Division IV bracket, will meet second-seeded Steele Canyon in Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Eastlake High School. The Eagles advanced following Wednesday’s 2-0 win over fourth-seeded High Tech High North County while Steele Canyon captured a penakly kicks-from-the mark tiebreaker against third-seeded San Ysidro.

Both Steele Canyon’s boys and girls teams will play for division titles this weekend.