In any given year the CIF-Metro Conference coed roller hockey season would have wrapped up more than a month ago. But, of course, this isn’t any typical season because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The roller hockey season normally faces off with practices in mid-November and games are in full swing by the first week in December. Midseason rolls around in January and teams get ready to compete in the Kiwanis Cup playoffs in February. The championship round usually takes place the first week in March.
But all those dates came and went and it appeared the 2020-21 season wouldn’t happen at all. But teams received word from the Sweetwater Union High School district in April that a season would indeed happen, though it would be short and might not include playoffs.
But something was better than nothing for players, many of whom had been involved in conditioning drills or practicing for several months.
The puck finally dropped Saturday, May 1, for six teams at the Castle Park High School outdoor rink in Chula Vista.
Castle Park’s Josh Barreto scored the first goal of the delayed season, Mar Vista’s Tiffany O’Neil netted the first hat trick, Mar Vista’s Oswaldo Lambarena scored the first game-winning goal and Eastlake goaltender Akemi Scott recorded the first shutout victory to help provide highlights to the first round of regular season competition.
“With COVID, everyone had to make adjustments,” Sweetwater Union High School District Athletic Director Alex Estrada said. “Our district, our conference wanted to provide every opportunity to allow these kids to get out of the house and get back to a sense of normalcy. We’re going to continue that (with roller hockey). We’re excited.”
Not all 10 district teams are competing this season. A general lack of participation numbers has affected all sports throughout the high school spectrum, and inline hockey has not been immune.
Six teams are competing in this shortened season. Games are scheduled in blocks of five spread over the first three weekends in May. Teams will play a total of five games (down from 15-20 in a full season that would include a midseason tournament and postseason playoffs).
Estrada said there is a potential for a three-round playoff tournament involving all six teams the week of May 17.
Participating teams for the shortened season include the Bonita Vista Barons, Castle Park Trojans, Eastlake Titans, Mar Vista Mariners, Otay Ranch Mustangs and San Ysidro Cougars.
Not in the lineup are the Chula Vista Spartans (defending South Bay League champions), Hilltop Lancers (defending Mesa League champions), Southwest Raiders and Sweetwater Red Devils.
“It’s nice to be back,” said Bonita Vista junior Maxwell Anderson, who set a school record with 98 goals and 120 points in 22 games last season. “With COVID, it’s been a year off. I hope we can win all our games.”
The Barons look to be the strongest of the six returning teams based on the first weekend’s results. Bonita Vista out-dueled Eastlake, 10-1, in its first game and skated past San Ysidro, 12-1, in its second game of the day to jump to the early lead in the standings with an undefeated 2-0 mark and 22-2 goal-differential.
Other games were closer.
Castle Park and Mar Vista exchanged leads throughout their game to face off the opening weekend. Barreto scored the opening two goals of the game before the Mariners responded with five unanswered goals to take a 5-2 lead.
The Trojans responded in kind with four unanswered goals to go in front 6-5. But Mar Vista rallied as O’Neil, assisted by teammate Alana Davis, scored the game-tying goal with 1:11 to play.
Lambarena netted the dramatic game-winner on a breakaway with just 11 seconds left on the scoreboard.
O’Neil had four goals while Lambarena collected his own hat trick in the spunky 7-6 win for the Mariners.
“It’s lovely,” Mar Vista coach Joel Vizcarra said of the season opening win. “But it’s nice to have the kids out there more than anything.”
Barreto led the Trojans with five goals while Maryrose Kaaihue added a goal and assist. Richelle Roldan also picked up two assists for Castle Park, which was braced in the net by Mara Nellis.
Kaaihue’s goal came shorthanded to make the score 5-4 as the Trojans continued their comeback.
Serena Trillo earned the win between the pipes for Mar Vista.
Warm (but not too hot) conditions prevailed on opening weekend that saw four teams play back-to-back games.
Mar Vista drew Eastlake in the second game of the day, but play was suspended after two periods with the Titans leading 6-0 due to fatigue on the part of the Mariners, who were playing with only one bench player.
Kevin Eagles gave Eastlake a quick 1-0 lead with a goal off the opening face-off, assisted by Emilio Navarette, who scored the game’s next goal, assisted by Erick Morgan, for a 2-0 lead.
The Titans led 4-0 after the first period as Navarette and Eagles each scored again.
Eagles netted the only two goals of the second period to push the Titans to a 6-0 lead and push himself to a team-leading four goals in the game. Navarette finished the contest with two goals and one assist while Scott and George Carver both earned assists.
Eastlake coach Richard Haislip said his team is returning only two players from last season: Scott and Eagles, now a senior.
“We have a full new team with the exception of our goaltender and our only senior (Eagles),” said Haislip, whose team qualified for last year’s Kiwanis Cup playoffs. “Everyone is new to the sport. Practicing is all they’ve had. It was definitely fun to put them in a game experience and see how everyone responded.”
The Titans appeared to respond well in their second game — at least for the opening period —against a much more experienced Bonita Vista team. Navarette scored to cut the early Baron lead to 3-1.
Bonita Vista, however, scored the next seven goals to post the win. The Barons spread around the scoring with seven players picking up at least a goal or assist.
Anderson (five goals) and junior Diego Nunes (one goal, four assists) topped all scorers with five points. Junior Alvaro Ruiz was next on the BV tally sheet with three goals and one assist.
Senior Aaron Pangilinan, the only 12th-grader on the team, chipped in with two assists while freshman Emily Zepeda Escobedo scored one goal. Freshman goaltender Emilana Santos and junior Keala Nunes both were awarded an assist in the game.
Morgan was credited with an assist for Eastlake.
High school sports generally goes in cycles and it appears it’s finally time for the Barons to get back on top.
“I’m really excited about this team,” veteran BVHS coach Keith Quigley said. “This is one of our most competitive teams in years. It was a great game. I just wish we could have had a full season this year. We had a solid core of returning players. We added a couple guys who will make a difference for us in our games.”
Quigley noted it was the fourth consecutive win over Eastlake, including last season’s three-game sweep.
“How many times can you say we’ve beaten a team like Eastlake four times in a row?” Quigley posed the question. “Not many.”
The Baron coach is excited that he finally has a freshman goaltender to develop.
Santos sports a sterling 1.00 goals-against average following the team’s opening two victories.
The Barons received points from six players in the win over the Cougars (and nine players overall between the two games).
San Ysidro actually scored first as Alejandro Vargas scored off the opening faceoff to tie the Titans’ Eagles for fastest goal to start a game this season.
However, Bonita Vista quickly got its motor running with the final 12 goals of the game. The Barons led 4-1 at the end of the first period and 11-1 through two periods. But the goals didn’t come easy against Cougar netminder Mariano Mercado, who made multiple saves on many shots before finally being beaten.
Anderson and Ruiz both scored five goals to lead Bonita Vista in its second game while Diego Nunes had four assists. Keala Nunes collected a goal and two assists in the victory while freshman Andrew Madrigal had a goal and assist. Sophomore Noah Burke notched one assist to round out team scoring.
San Ysidro had little turnaround time to close out the day by facing Otay Ranch, which carried most of the play to post an 8-3 win in support or netminder Alex Short.
Three Mustangs each scored two goals: Shawn Donahue, Sean Yeow and Cristian Wright. Randall Horne and Dayna Coates also scored goals for Otay Ranch.
Vargas struck first for the Cougars and scored again in the second period to narrow the early Mustang lead to 4-3. But San Ysidro could not stave off four final goals by Otay Ranch despite an estimated 70 stops by Mercado.
Mercado finished the Cougars’ two games with an estimated 120 stops in front of the net.
“It was pretty nice (to pick up the win) in our first game,” Mustang coach Christian Welch said. “It got my adrenaline running.”
There were plenty of good memories to go around.
“I was excited about scoring in my very first game,” said Yeow, a freshman. “It’s special.”
Scoring Leaders
Maxwell Anderson (BV) 10 goals, 0 assists – 10 points
Alvaro Ruiz (BV) 8 goals, 1 assist – 9 points
Diego Nunes (BV) 1 goal, 8 assists – 9 points
Josh Barreto (CP) 5 goals, 0 assists – 5 points
Tiffany O’Neil (MV) 4 goals, 0 assists – 4 points
Kevin Eagles (EL) 4 goals, 0 assists – 4 points
Emilio Navarette (EL) 3 goals, 1 assist – 4 points
Alejandro Vargas(SY) 3 goals, 1 assists – 4 points
Keala Nunes (BV) 1 goal, 3 assists – 4 points
Oswaldo Lambarena (MV) 3 goals, 0 assists – 3 points
Shawn Donahue (OR) 2 goals, 0 assists – 2 points
Sean Yeow (OR) 2 goals, 0 assists – 2 points
Cristian Wright (OR) 2 goals, 0 assists – 2 points
Andrew Madrigal (BV) 1 goal, 1 assist – 2 points
Maryrose Kaaihue (CP 1 goal, 1 assist – 2 points
Aaron Pangilinan (BV) 0 goals, 2 assists – 2 points
Erick Morgan (EL) 0 goals, 2 assists – 2 points
Richelle Roldan (CP) 0 goals, 2 assists – 2 points
Emily Zepeda Escobedo (BV) 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
Randall Horne (OR) 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
Dayna Coates (OR) 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
Eliana Santos (BV) 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
Noah Burke (BV) 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
Alana Davis (MV) 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
Akemi Scott (EL) 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
George Carver (EL) 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
Angel Bernal (SY) 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
TEAM STANDINGS
Bonita Vista Barons 2-0
Otay Ranch Mustangs 1-0
Eastlake Titans 1-1
Mar Vista Mariners 1-1
Castle Park Trojans 0-1
San Ysidro Cougars 0-2
Metro Conference Schedule
Games of May 1
Mar Vista 7, Castle Park 6
Eastlake 6, Mar Vista 0
Bonita Vista 10, Eastlake 1
Bonita Vista 12, San Ysidro 1
Otay Ranch 8, San Ysidro 3
Games of May 8
Castle Park vs. Eastlake, 9 a.m.
Eastlake vs. San Ysidro, 10 a.m.
Castle Park vs. Bonita Vista, 11 a.m.
Bonita Vista vs. Otay Ranch, noon
Mar Vista vs. Otay Ranch, 1 p.m.
Games of May 15
Bonita Vista vs. Mar Vista, 9 a.m.
San Ysidro vs. Mar Vista, 10 a.m.
San Ysidro vs. Castle Park, 11 a.m.
Otay Ranch vs. Eastlake, noon
Otay Ranch vs. Castle Park, 1 p.m.
