Overall, it was a good showing by Metro Conference teams at this year’s 96-team Barons girls soccer tournament. Finals took place last Saturday at several sites throughout the South Bay.
The Southwest Raiders defeated Ramona, 5-2, to win the Limited Division varsity championship title while Olympian dropped a 2-1 decision to Mission Hills in the Classic Division varsity final.
Bonita Vista edged Cathedral Catholic, 2-1, to win the Premier Division junior varsity championship.
Additionally, Eastlake, San Ysidro, Chula Vista and Otay Ranch also advanced as far as the varsity division semifinals while Eastlake, Otay Ranch and Olympian advanced as far as the JV semifinals, with Bonita Vista’s freshman team also making it to the semifinal round.
“We pretty much had all the top teams in the county at this tournament,” tournament director Robert Blas explained. “It was very competitive, especially the Open/Premier Division.”
Scripps Ranch, last season’s San Diego Section Division I runner-up team, edged Valhalla, 1-0, to capture the top-rung Open/Premier varsity title. The Falcon defense made Erica Episcopo’s first-half goal stand up as the game-winner in the game played at Eastlake High School.
Scripps Ranch (4-0-2) defeated Eastlake, 3-1, in the semifinals while Valhalla (3-1-2) edged Grossmont, 2-0, to advance to the final.
Kaitlyn Harvey scored the Titans’ lone goal in the loss to the Falcons.
Prior to the loss to Scripps Ranch, Eastlake had started the season with a 5-0 record, including tournament pool wins against Poway (1-0), Granite Hills (3-0) and Serra (3-0).
“It’s early in the season but I’m very optimistic for our chances to be very competitive throughout the year,” EHS coach Mark Coziahr said. “We have a great mix of veteran players to go with a group of very talented freshmen and sophomores.”
Southwest defeated Mt. Carmel, 3-2, in the semifinals. The win over Ramona made amends for an overtime loss in last year’s championship game to Our Lady of Peace.
“This gives credibility to the program,” said Southwest coach Marco Beltran, whose team improved to 4-2 on the season. “Coaches from other South Bay teams have emailed to congratulate me and the team. It was very rewarding for the girls.
“This is my 10th year at Southwest and we’ve been to the finals four times. I told the girls before the game this was the fourth time we’ve been here, so let’s win one. About eight of the girls were on the field last year when we lost in overtime to OLP, so they didn’t forget.”
Elena Perez scored three goals in the championship game and two goals in the semifinals to earn the division MVP award. Jackie Beltran and Briana Gonzalez also scored goals in the final.
The Raiders were down, 2-0, in the semifinal before scoring three goals in the final 15 minutes to score the dramatic come-from-behind victory.
In Classic Division varsity semifinal matches, Olympian shut out Otay Ranch, 2-0, while Mission Hills topped Chula Vista 3-1. In the Unlimited Division semifinals, Pt. Loma edged San Ysidro 1-0.
