Eastlake High School junior Braden Mayer elevated his game to a new level in Wednesday’s non-league game against Cathedral Catholic and it paid off with a 13-5 win over the Dons.

Mayer, who is vying with Otay Ranch’s Sean Devaney for best all-around player among Sweetwater district teams, made an instant difference in the Jan. 23 game once he stepped onto the playing court.

Mayer did not play the opening four minutes in the game at which point Cathedral Catholic had dominated with almost constant pressure in the Titans defensive zone.

Once in the game, Mayer hooked up with linemate Luke Killeen for a spectacular fireworks show. Mayer assisted on Killeen’s game-opening goal. The two EHS standouts scored breakaway goals a minute apart to stake the Titans to a 3-0 lead.

Killeen scored on another breakaway to increase Eastlake’s lead to 4-0. Mayer then scored the goal of the game when he gained possession of the puck in front of the Titan net, sped through the center of the playing court and proceeded to deftly stick-handle the puck through three Cathedral defensemen and then deposit the puck past Dons netminder Gunnar Michelsen.

The scoring play, which took mere seconds, dropped jaws among many onlookers.

The Titans would eventually stretch their lea to 7-0 before Ben Rodenbeck ended the Eastlake offensive onslaught with a goal to end the opening period.

John Montgomery scored to open the second period to let the Titans know they had competition on the floor. Robenbeck later scored to trim the Eastlake lead to 9-3 and teammate Henry Allen beat Robbie Anderson to make the score 10-4. Quinn Conway’s goal made the score 11-5 at the end of the second period. But the speed of Killeen and Mayer, in particular, was too much for the Cathedral defense to contain.

The Titans closed out the game with the only two goals in the third period to win by eight goals.

It was the third consecutive win by Eastlake over the Dons in the space of two seasons. The Titans won a regular season overtime encounter last year before topping the North County League team in the quarterfinal round of the Kiwanis Cup playoffs.

Mayer, who is playing ice hockey at the AAA level for the Jr. Ducks, led all scorers in Wednesday’s game with 12 points (eight goals, four assists). Killeen tallied up six points (five goals, one assist).

Nearly every one of Mayer’s goals was of highlight reel quality.

“We were playing a better team, so I had to try harder, more competition,” Mayer acknowledged.

Together, Mayer and Killeen combined to score all of the Titans’ 13 goals in the game. The chemistry between the two players may be unmatched on the playing court among Sweetwater district teams.

“I’ve been playing with Luke for a while,” Mayer said. “We know where to go to get to the open spots. When one of us gets the puck, the other swings back and cuts back to the back post. We know how to play off each other.”

While the two may have some set plays down, much of what transpires on the playing court is free-flowing. One of Mayer’s top attributes, besides his speed, may be his rink vision – a quality equally noted in regard to his older brother Aaron, the CIF-Metro Conference’s all-time single-season scoring leader.

Aaron Mayer is now the scoring leader on San Diego State University’s men’s ice hockey team that occupies first place in the PAC hockey conference South Division standings.

The younger Mayer appears equally explosive on the playing court. It’s not just limited to offense, either. Mayer uses his breakaway speed to get back on defense and disrupt plays – often against the top player on the opposing team.

Mayer said he likes playing roller hockey because it allows him to be more creative with the puck.

“It’s nice when you can do something you don’t see every day,” he said.

If Mayer and Killeen can duplicate the effort they produced against the high profile match-up against the Dons, the Titans (14-3) will be a difficult team to deal with in the race for this year’s Mesa League championship and later in the upcoming Kiwanis Cup playoffs.

Besides Mayer and Killeen, it would be hard to find any Titan who did not perform well in Wednesday’s game. Defender Karla Navarrete collected two assists while Kevin Eagles had one assist.

Certainly, Wednesday’s game was another statement maker for Eastlake, which capped this year’s Bonita Optimist/Pam Wiser Classic tournament with a 10-5 win over east side rival Otay Ranch on Monday to repeat as Gold Division champions.

“We wanted to come out full force as we expected it to be our toughest game this year,” EHS head coach Rich Haislip said in regard to Wednesday’s win over the Dons. “Everyone on our top line was playing on all cylinders. With us playing so many games lately, I think it helped us out with our continuity.”

Eastlake finished 6-1 in the tournament, finishing 3-1 in pool play on Saturday (without Mayer in the lineup) and 3-0 in Monday’s playoff rounds (with Mayer in the lineup).

Castle Park handed Eastlake a 5-1 defeat in pool play to finish 4-0. The Titans finished 3-1 while Bonita Vista finished 2-2, Sweetwater 1-3 and San Ysidro 0-4.

Eastlake eliminated Chula Vista, 9-2, in the quarterfinals before topping Hilltop, 8-5, in the semifinals.

Otay Ranch edged Bonita Vista, 10-9, in overtime in the quarterfinals and bested Castle Park, 6-4, in the semifinals.

The more-rested Titans bolted out to an 8-0 lead in the championship game before being outscored 5-2 in the latter half of the game by the Mustangs.

Killeen had the hot hand with four goals and three assists while Mayer collected seven points on three goals and four assists. Navarrete picked up two goals and one assist while Eagles contributed one goal and one assist.

Devaney scored all five goals for Otay Ranch, three of them unassisted.

“We want to improve as a team,” Haislip said. “There’s a lot of good competition this year at the top. We want to separate ourselves form the other teams. We’re continuing to improve, especially our new players, many of whom had not played this sport before or had skated.

“Our top line — Braden, Luke, Kevin and Karla — has come together to mesh better.”

Eastlake made amends for its tournament loss to Castle Park by skating past the Trojans, 10-4, in a Mesa League game on Tuesday (Jan. 22). The Titans rolled to a 7-0 lead in the post-tournament contest and extended their lead to 10-1 before the Trojans tacked on the final three goals of the game.

Mayer led the offensive assault with nine points (six goals, three assists) while Killeen had five points (three goals, two assists). Navarrete scored once while Eagles registered one assist.

Martin Mari led Castle Park with a hat trick. Jovan Macias had one goal while Bryan Mendez had one assist.

Eastlake moved into sole possession of second place in the Mesa League standings with a 5-2 league record, pending one rain make-up date against Otay Ranch.

 

In a pair of South Bay league games on Wednesday (Jan. 23):

Chula Vista 7, Southwest 1
The Spartans received four goals and two assists from Lucio Gutierrez, one goal and three assists from Adrian Ontiveros.

Mar Vista 2, San Ysidro 1
The Mariners opened up a 2-0 lead on goals by Isaac Suarez and Diana Gass. Gonzalo Morales scored for the Cougars to make it a one-goal game. Kevin Villaneuva continued to play strong between the pipes for second-year San Ysidro.

 

Mustangs trail by three goals to Trojans, win 9-8 on eight goals by Devaney

No lead seems to be safe whenever Otay Ranch’s Sean Devaney is on the floor. The Mustang sniper rifled in eight goals and picked up one assist to pace the Mustangs to a come-from-behind 9-8 Mesa League win over the Castle Park Trojans Thursday evening at the Castle Park High School outdoor rink.

Devaney scored the opening goal of the game to stake Otay Ranch to a quick 1-0 lead. Jared Fuentes countered for Castle Park to tie the game. Devaney promptly scored again to allow the Mustangs to regain the lead at 2-1. But Jovan Macias promptly scored for the Trojans to level the score at 2-2.

Castle Park rattled off the next two goals to take a 4-2 lead. Bryan Mendez was credited with the go-ahead goal, assisted by Macias, while Martin Mari tacked on a second unanswered goal to lift the Trojans to a two-goal lead.

But Devaney scored the next two goals, including one on a breakaway, to tie the game at 4-4.

The Trojans scored the next three goals in the seesaw contest to lead 7-4. Fuentes scored off a pass from Mendez to break the tie and Mari, assisted by Macias, once again put Castle Park up by two goals. Mari made it a three-goal game, assisted by Macias and Mendez.

But the Mustangs rallied with the next five goals – four by Devaney, including two on the power play – to skate off with the win.

Nathan Castro made the score 7-5, assisted by Devaney, who then scored an unassisted goal to end the second period to reduce the Trojan lead to 7-6.

Devaney scored a power play goal to level the score at 7-7 and followed with two more goals to put Otay Ranch up 9-7.

Macias scored for Castle Park with 57 seconds to play to trim the Mustang lead to 9-8 and goaltender Joel Aninipok made a clutch save with 22.9 seconds to play to preserve the Otay Ranch victory.

Devaney finished the whirlwind match-up with eight goals and one assist. Five of the eight goals were unassisted, two came on the power play and one came on a breakaway.

Macias led Castle Park with five points on two goals and three assists while Mari chalked up three goals and one assist. Mendez collected three points on one goal and two assists while Fuentes potted two goals.

The Mustangs used a similar come-from-behind scenario in slipping past Bonita Vista, 10-8, in another Mesa League game on Tuesday. The Barons built an early 2-0 lead on a pair of goals by Nick Stark before Otay Ranch rallied with three goals — two by Devaney and one by Castro – to take a 3-2 lead.

Stark scored three consecutive goals to put Bonita Vista ahead 5-3 on the scoreboard. But the Mustangs promptly rallied to tie the game at 5-5 on goals by Lino Mancibel and Devaney.

Ana Custodio ripped off a long-range goal to put the Barons back on top by a 6-5 score. But Giovanni Arce scored for Otay Ranch to tie the game at 6-6.

Devaney and Custodio traded goals for a 7-7 standoff to face off the third period.

Stark gave Bonita Vista an 8-7 lead with 10:13 to play in the period. But there was too much time left on the clock for the Devaney-driven Mustangs. Devaney ripped off two goals to make the score 9-8 with seven minutes to play. Arce closed out scoring in the high-scoring shootout with an insurance goal with 4:37 left.

The Barons were unable to tie the game in the waning minutes.

Devaney finished as the game’s top scorer with six goals and four assists. Stark led Bonita Vista with six goals while Custodio scored twice.

 

Lancers top Barons, stay on top of Mesa League standings

Hilltop’s Trevor Fune tallied six goals as the Mesa League leaders rolled to a 7-2 win over longtime rival Bonita Vista Thursday evening at the Castle Park High School roller rink.

The teams have been playing one another since 1998 and early on it looked to be a gritty battle with the teams tied 1-1. Fune opened scoring in the game for Hilltop while Nick Stark, assisted by Ana Custodio, countered for the Barons.

But Bonita Vista was unable to contain Fune and linemate Kristin Lambertson (one goal, one assist), who continuously drove the puck down the playing court throughout the game. The Lancers led 4-1 by the end of the first period and were up 7-1 at the end of two periods.

Fune recorded a hat trick in the first period while Lambertson sniped one goal. Fune scored three more goals in the second period, including one unassisted shorthanded goal.

Stark closed out scoring with a power play goal late in the game.

Hilltop improved to 7-1 in league play with four league games remaining — one each against Otay Ranch (Jan. 29), Eastlake (Jan. 31), Bonita Vista (Feb. 5) and Castle Park (Feb. 12). Wins in all four will hand the Lancers sole possession of this year’s league banner. A loss to any of the other teams could force a co-championship.

The Mesa League champion qualifies for the Kiwanis Cup playoffs that are tentatively scheduled to start on Feb. 20.

Hilltop defeated Mar Vista, 8-0, in a non-league game on Tuesday as five players picked up goals. Justin Sanchez led the Lancers with three goals while Lambertson scored two goals. Fune had one goal and two assists while Isaiah Macias chipped in with two assists. #4 and #6 each scored one goal while goaltender Victor Guzman was credited with one assist.

Hilltop is driven by a group of eight players who have been together since their freshmen season. All were sophomores last year – this is their third year together,” Lancer head coach Paul Tesner noted. “They have the knowledge they have picked up over the last two years and trust their goaltenders to block the puck. I think that will be a key for us next year — I’m hoping to keep that group together during the offseason.”

 

Red Devils shut out Cougars 9-0 to continue South Bay League dominance

Sweetwater defeated over San Ysidro, 9-0, on Thursday to remain undefeated in South Bay League play. Jose Lopez led the Red Devil scoring column with four goals and two assists while David Segura had two goals and one assist.

Jocelyn Flores scored two goals, including one shorthanded goal, while Cesar Salazar had one goal and one assist. Brizeth Barajas and Isabel Iniguez each had one assist.

Despite the one-sided score, the game was very competitive. Sweetwater led 2-0 after the first period before adding four goals in the second period and three goals in the third period against a vastly improved second-year San Ysidro squad.

Six separate Red Devils picked up either a goal or assist in the victory.

“The team is starting to play together as a team,” SuHi coach Brandon Fox said. “They’re playing a lot better than at the start of the year as far as team chemistry.”

 

Game of the week: Barons tip Devils in overtime shootout

The Bonita Vista Barons and Sweetwater Red Devils proved they are perhaps the most evenly matched teams among the Sweetwater district’s 10 roller hockey squads when they battled through a 5-5 overtime standoff Friday in a non-league encounter at the Castle Park High School outdoor rink.

Sweetwater held a narrow 3-2 lead at the end of the first period. The game was tied 4-4 through two periods and 5-5 at the end of regulation play. Neither team scored in the overtime period, though not for a lack of chances, and the game proceed into a three-round shootout.

Bonita Vista scored the only goal in the shootout tiebreaker to emerge as 6-5 winners in the well-played and exciting game between teams.

Sweetwater entered the match-up unbeaten in the South Bay League while Bonita Vista was winless in the Mesa League. The teams met in last Saturday’s pool round of the Bonita Optimist/Pam Wiser Classic, with Bonita Vista emerging with 4-2 win.

Sweetwater would go on to win the tournament’s Silver Division championship while Bonita Vista dropped an overtime contest to Mesa League rival Otay Ranch in the Gold Division quarterfinals.

Given the Red Devils and Barons’ respective places in the standings, coupled with the tournament mini-game encounter, Friday’s game expected to be close, and it turned into a barn-burner for fans to watch.

Ana Custodio drew assists on the opening two goals for Bonita Vista as Alvaro Ruiz and Nick Stark each tallied goals.

Cesar Salazar scored two goals to lead Sweetwater in the first period, with David Segura adding one goal to give the Devils a one-goal lead.

Stark scored a power play goal early in the second period to tie the game at 3-3. Custodio, assisted by Stark, put the Barons in front by a score of 4-3 before Salazar, assisted by Irma Victoria, completed his hat trick to out Sweetwater to tie the game at 4-4 to end the period.

Custodio made the score 5-4 in Bonita Vista’s favor with an unassisted goal to open scoring in the third period. But Isabel Iniguez, assisted by Jose Lopez, tied the game at 5-all.

Lopez took a roughing penalty with 50 seconds to play in regulation to put Bonita Vista on the power play for the remainder of the game. The Barons were unable to score with the man-advantage but their power play lapsed over into overtime, which began with a 3-on-2 advantage for Bonita Vista.

The Devils were able to kill off the man-disadvantage but could not score themselves when returning to 3-on-3 overtime play.

The game would be decided by the goaltenders for each team – Bonita Vista’s Faith Sunga and Sweetwater’s Carolina Negrete.

Custodio went first and scored to put the Barons up 1-0 in the shootout tiebreaker. The remaining five shooters fired blanks to make Custodio’s marker stand up as the shootout winner.

Sunga stopped Lopez as Sweetwater’s first shooter. Negrete stopped Stark on a low shot and Salazar was stopped as well, leaving one shooter remaining for each team in the third round.

Bonita Vista’s Diego Nunes had a chance to put the victory in the bag with a shootout goal but was stopped, leaving Sunga to decide the remaining course of the contest.

If Mendez scored, the game would advance to a fourth round; if Sunga made the save, the Barons would win.

Sunga made the save, deflecting the puck wide, to give the Barons the hard-earned victory.

Bonita Vista players streaked off the bench to mob Sunga, who stood a little bewildered at first by what had just transpired.

She quickly found out she was the heroine of the match.

Aptly, Custodio led the Barons with two goals and two assists in the regulation/overtime portion of the game while Stark collected two goals and one assist.

“We played great as a team and our goalie played an excellent game, she made some big-time saves,” BVHS assistant coach Tony Rissi noted after the marathon contest had concluded.

BVHS head coach Keith Quigley was equally enthusiastic about the win, which was the second for the team in as many non-league games against teams from the South Bay League (excluding tournament play).

“It was exciting for the team to come out on top,” Quigley said. “We’ve been working hard. We’ve had some tough games, some close games, so it feels nice to come out with the win.”

Sweetwater played one of its best games of the season in absorbing the non-league setback.

 

In other games on Friday (Jan. 25):

Chula Vista 6, Mar Vista 5
The Spartans rallied to post the come-from-behind South Bay League win, snapping a 5-5 deadlock on a goal by Lucio Gutierrez in the late going. Gutierrez finished the game with four goals while Sylvia Barba and Adrian Ontiveros each scored one goal. Ontiveros added two goals for three points in the game while Barba tacked on one assist.

Isaac Suarez led the Mariners with three goals while Diana Gass scored two goals.

Castle Park 2, Southwest 0
In a non-league game in which Castle Park goaltender Arial Briones skated out and field player Jared Fuentes donned the goaltender gear, the Trojans managed to squeak past the Raiders.

Southwest played strong defensively and in goal throughout the contest to thwart Castle Park shooters. Jovan Macias scored the only goal of the first period and the game entered the third period with the same score as the teams battled through a scoreless second period.

Bryan Mendez, assisted by Martin Mari, doubled the Trojans’ lead to 2-0 with a goal in the third period. Fuentes made two dramatic saves to keep the Raiders off the scoreboard but Briones was unable to score during her shifts on the floor.

 

MESA LEAGUE STANDINGS
(Through Jan. 25)
Hilltop Lancers 7-1, 12-3
Eastlake Titans 5-2, 14-3
Castle Park Trojans 4-4, 10-5
Otay Ranch Mustangs 3-4, 9-7
Bonita Vista Barons 0-8, 4-11

SOUTH BAY LEAGUE STANDINGS
(Through Jan. 25)
Sweetwater Red Devils 7-0, 10-5
Chula Vista Spartans 5-2, 7-8
Mar Vista Mariners 5-3, 6-10
Southwest Raiders 1-7, 2-14
San Ysidro Cougars 1-7, 1-14

 

CIF-Metro Conference Scoreboard
Tuesday, Jan. 22
Mesa League
Otay Ranch 10, Bonita Vista 8
Eastlake 10, Castle Park 4
Non-League
Hilltop 8, Mar Vista 0

Wednesday, Jan. 23
South Bay League
Chula Vista 7, Southwest 1
Mar Vista 2, San Ysidro 1

North County League
Rancho Bernardo 14, Escondido Charter 1
Scripps Ranch 12, Patrick Henry 4
Westview vs. Poway, no report

Non-League
Eastlake 13, Cathedral Catholic 5

Thursday, Jan. 24
Mesa League
Otay Ranch 9, Castle Park 8
Hilltop 7, Bonita Vista 2

South Bay League
Sweetwater 9, San Ysidro 0

North County League
Rancho Bernardo 14, Poway 2
Patrick Henry 10, Cathedral Catholic 6
Westview 8, Escondido Charter 2

Friday, Jan. 25
South Bay League
Chula Vista 6, Mar Vista 5

Non-League
Bonita Vista 6, Sweetwater 5 (shootout)
Castle Park 2, Southwest 0

 

Northern exposure
Rancho Bernardo picked up two North County League wins this week — 14-1 over Escondido Charter on Wednesday and 14-2 over Poway on Thursday — to improve to 8-1 in league play.

Ike Frankel and Niklas Thomas led the Broncos with four and three goals, respectively, in the win over Escondido Charter while Frankel (four goals) and Miles Cook (three goals) paced the team in scoring in the win over Poway. Alex Pang, Thomas and Trevor Marquez each finished the game against Poway with two goals while Chris Angelo had one goal.

Scripps Ranch improved to 11-0 on the season after pickup up its latest two wins – 14-0 over Cathedral Catholic on Jan. 17 and 12-4 over Patrick Henry on Wednesday.

In other North County League games on Thursday, Westview defeated Escondido Charter by a score of 8-2 while Patrick Henry shaded Cathedral Catholic 10-6.

Matthew Voegel had five goals, Ruben Allen had four goals and Brett Miller had one goal for Patrick Henry while John Montgomery netted a hat trick for Cathedral. Sam Lathus had two goals and Henry Allen had one goal for the Dons.

 

Titans roll to title in sixth annual Bonita Optimist/Pam Wiser Classic tournament

The Eastlake Titans rolled to their second consecutive Bonita Optimist/Pam Wiser Classic tournament championship after defeating the east side rival Otay Ranch Mustangs, 10-5, in Gold Division Finals held Monday, Jan. 21, at the Castle Park High School outdoor rink.

Luke Killeen (four goals, three assists) and Braden Mayer (three goals, four assists) each collected seven points to lead the Titans, who posted a 6-1 record in the two-day event, including a perfect 3-0 run through the championship playoffs.

Wiser, the tournament’s namesake, served as the head coach at Chula Vista High School and later as an assistant coach at Southwest High School prior to her death in 2011. She championed fair play between teams and also helped serve as a role model for females during her decade-plus involvement in the coed sport.

Many regard her affectionately as the ultimate team mom.

The growth of female participation in roller hockey locally can be attributed to her pioneering efforts and for that she is fondly remembered. The tie-in to the Martin Luther King holiday weekend is a natural, according to tournament director Jerry Nestlerode, who coached alongside Wiser at Southwest High School.

“Her philosophy toward hockey was that anyone at any skill level could come out and play on the same rink,” Nestlerode said. “Pam wanted kids to have an equal opportunity to play sports.”

Nestlerode called this year’s celebration of Wiser’s memory a “wonderful tournament.”

“It was really nice to see all 10 Sweetwater district schools involved,” he said. “That’s a new phase. It was really nice. I really liked how the tournament happened on Martin Luther King Day. The equality that Dr. King heralded was demonstrated throughout the tournament and supported Pam’s philosophy.”

Bonita Vista coach Keith Quigley, who has coached the Barons since their inception in 1998, also remembers Wiser fondly.

“I think it’s wonderful that the Pam Wiser tournament is still happening,” Quigley said. “I told my players how much Pam did for the hockey community. She was the team hockey mom and hockey coach. If you didn’t have a stick or gloves, Pam would find a way to get you on the rink. She was amazing at doing that. She helped grow the sport down here. We remember her for that.”

 

Titans on top
Mayer racked up 21 points (13 goals, eight assists) in Eastlake’s three playoff games while Killeen collected 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists). The two combined to score 22 of the Titans’ 27 goals (82 percent) in the three playoff games.

Eastlake finished 3-1 in pool play on Saturday (without Mayer in the lineup) and 3-0 in Monday’s playoff rounds (with Mayer in the lineup).

Castle Park handed Eastlake a 5-1 defeat in pool play to finish 4-0. The Titans finished 3-1 while Bonita Vista finished 2-2, Sweetwater 1-3 and San Ysidro 0-4.

Eastlake eliminated Chula Vista, 9-2, in the quarterfinals before topping Hilltop, 8-5, in the semifinals.

Otay Ranch edged Bonita Vista, 10-9, in overtime in the quarterfinals and bested Castle Park, 6-4, in the semifinals.

The more-rested Titans bolted out to an 8-0 lead in the championship game before being outscored 5-2 in the latter half of the game by the Mustangs.

Killeen had the hot hand with four goals and three assists while Mayer collected seven points on three goals and four assists. Navarrete picked up two goals and one assist while Eagles contributed one goal and one assist.

Devaney scored all five goals for Otay Ranch, three of them unassisted.

“We want to improve as a team,” Haislip said. “There’s a lot of good competition this year at the top. We want to separate ourselves from the other teams. We’re continuing to improve, especially our new players, many of whom had not played this sport before or skated.

“Our top line — Braden, Luke, Kevin and Karla — has come together to mesh better.”

Eastlake’s Braden Mayer appears to be going to the five-hole in tournament championship match-up against Otay Ranch. Photo by Phillip Brents

 

Group A winner Castle Park and Group B winner Hilltop each received byes to face off Monday’s Gold Division playoffs.

Games on Monday consisted of two 20-minute halves.

Eastlake, the second-place finisher in Group A, drew Chula Vista, the third-place finisher in Group B, in the opening quarterfinal match. The Titans won 9-2 as Mayer racked up six consecutive goals and later tacked on one assist. Killeen had two goals and four assists. Kevin Eagles scored the other goal for Eastlake.

Lucio Gutierrez scored both goals for the Spartans, with Sylvia Barba and Adrian Ontiveros each picking up assists.

The Titans advanced to meet Group B winner Hilltop in the ensuing semifinals. Eastlake won 8-5 after building an 8-0 lead in the contest. Mayer had four goals and three assists while Killeen had three goals and four assists. Karla Navarrete’s goal to face off the second half put the Titans ahead 8-0 on the scoreboard.

Hilltop, the current Mesa League leader, closed out the game with a furious finish by scoring the final five goals. Trevor Fune led the Lancers with one goal and two assists.

Hilltop finished the tournament 4-1. Fune paced the Lancers with nine goals and six assists while Kristin Lambertson collected four goals and two assists.

Otay Ranch finished 5-2 in the tournament – 3-1 in pool play and 2-1 in the playoffs.

The Mustangs, the Group B runner-up, staved off early playoff elimination with a dramatic come-from-behind 10-9 overtime win over Bonita Vista, the third-place finisher in Group A, in the quarterfinals.

The Barons held a 9-7 lead in the waning minutes before Devaney scored the clutch game-tying and game-winning goals. Otay Ranch tied the game to send it to overtime with just seconds remaining while skating on a power play.

Devaney potted the overtime winner 1:15 into the extra period.

Devaney led the Mustangs in the quarterfinal win with seven goals and one assist. Ana Custodio paced Bonita Vista with five goals while linemate Nick Stark had four goals and one assist.

Stark viewed the final outcome of the game from the sideline after leaving the game with his third penalty after being called for a holding the stick infraction with about 30 seconds left in the contest, with the Barons leading 9-8.

Otay Ranch advanced to meet Group A winner (and Mesa League rival) Castle Park in the semifinals. The Mustangs recovered from an early 4-2 deficit to win 6-4 to punch their ticket to the championship game.

Devaney staked Otay Ranch to a quick 2-0 lead. But the Trojans countered with four unanswered goals (one each by four different players). Devaney closed out the game with four unanswered goals, including two of the end-to-end variety.

Devaney finished the Mustangs’ three playoff games with 18 goals and one assist. He had a hand with either a goal or assist in 19 of Otay Ranch’s 21 goals (90.5 percent) in the three games.

While Devaney remains a potent scorer, he has started to receive more support in the second half of the season from teammates, especially senior Nathan Castro, a defensive back in football, who had accumulated 50 tackles, including 33 solo stops, and one fumble recovery in two seasons on the gridiron.

“Tournaments are the most fun,” Mustang head coach Christian Welch said. “We had an all-around effort.”

Castle Park finished tournament play with a 4-1 record while Bonita Vista and Chula Vista both finished 2-3.

Bonita Vista lost, 5-4, to Eastlake in pool play on Saturday. Killeen scored all five goals for the Titans (with one assist to Navarrete) while Stark scored all four goals for the Barons (with assists to Custodio and Ayden Mudd).

Bonita Vista defeated current South Bay League leader Sweetwater, 4-2, in group play. Stark had two goals and one assist while Mudd and Custodio each scored goals. Cesar Salazar and David Mendez each scored goals for the Red Devils.

The Barons also defeated San Ysidro by a score of 3-1. Keala Nunes, Custodio and Stark each scored goals for the winners.

Quigley, who promotes hard work and fair play, listed Stark (11 goals, three assists) Custodio (seven goals, one assist) and goaltender Faith Sunga (3.25 GAA) as the team’s top three players in the tournament.

“I thought as a team we played really well,” Quigley said. “My MVP for the tournament was Faith Sunga, our goaltender. She kept us in the games. Nick Stark and Ana Custodio are our two mainstays. They had a great tournament.”

Castle Park won all four of its group games, including a 5-0 win over Bonita Vista and a 5-1 win over Eastlake. The Trojans also defeated San Ysidro, 9-0, and shut out Sweetwater by an 8-0 score.

Scoring leaders for Castle Park in group play included Mari with 13 goals and two assists and Jared Fuentes with five goals and five assists.

Mari, a senior, paced the Trojans overall in tournament scoring with 16 points (14 goals, two assists).

Eastlake also shut out San Ysidro, 7-0, and Sweetwater, 8-1, to collect its three group stage victories. Killeen racked up eight goals and two assists in the two games while Eagles had one goal and four assists.

Killeen scored the Titans’ lone goal in the loss to Castle Park, assisted by Eagles. The Trojans countered with two goals by Mari, one goal and two assists by Fuentes and a goal and assist from Bryan Mendez.

Sweetwater picked up its lone group win with a 7-1 victory against San Ysidro. Salazar scored six goals to lead the Red Devils.

The bottom two teams in each group advanced to the Silver Division playoffs. The four teams opened Monday’s playoff rounds with a pair of semifinal games, with the two winners advancing to the championship game and the two losers playing for third place.

In semifinal match-ups, Sweetwater raced past Mar Vista, 7-1, while Southwest edged San Ysidro, 2-1.

Salazar had four goals and one assist for the Red Devils while Jose Lopez recorded a hat trick.

Edward Arsman scored both goals for Southwest.

Mar Vista shut out San Ysidro, 3-0, in the third-place game as Isaac Suarez netted all three Mariner goals.

Sweetwater captured the Silver Division championship with an 8-1 win over Southwest. Lopez led the Devils with five goals and one assist.

Sweetwater finished the tournament with a 3-3 overall record while Southwest finished 2-4.

Mar Vista finished tournament play with a 1-5 record while San Ysidro was 0-6.

Tournament records:
Eastlake 6-1
Castle Park 4-1
Hilltop 4-1
Otay Ranch 5-2
Sweetwater 3-3
Bonita Vista 2-3
Chula Vista 2-3
Southwest 2-4
Mar Vista 1-5
San Ysidro 0-6

Tournament scoring leaders:
Luke Killeen (Eastlake) 23 goals, 13 assists – 36 points
Sean Devaney (Otay Ranch) 32 goals, 3 assists – 35 points
Braden Mayer (Eastlake) 13 goals, 8 assists – 21 points
Martin Mari (Castle Park) 14 goals, 2 assists – 16 points
Cesar Salazar (Sweetwater) 13 goals, 3 assists – 16 points
Trevor Fune (Hilltop) 9 goals, 6 assists – 15 points
Nick Stark (Bonita Vista) 11 goals, 3 assists – 14 points
Lucio Gutierrez (Chula Vista) 7 goals, 3 assists – 10 points
Jared Fuentes (Castle Park) 5 goals, 5 assists – 10 points
Jose Lopez (Sweetwater) 8 goals, 1 assist – 9 points
Karla Navarrete (Eastlake) 3 goals, 6 assists – 9 points
Kevin Eagles (Eastlake) 3 goals, 6 assists – 9 points
Ana Custodio (Bonita Vista) 7 goals, 1 assist – 8 points

Sixth Annual Bonita Optimist
Pam Wiser Classic
At Castle Park High School

 Pool play: Saturday, Jan. 19

Group A Standings
Castle Park 4-0
Eastlake 3-1
Bonita Vista 2-2
Sweetwater 1-3
San Ysidro 0-4

Scoreboard
Castle Park 9, San Ysidro 0
Eastlake 5, Bonita Vista 4
Castle Park 8, Sweetwater 0
Eastlake 7, San Ysidro 0
Bonita Vista 4, Sweetwater 2
Castle Park 5, Eastlake 1
Bonita Vista 3, San Ysidro 1
Eastlake 8, Sweetwater 1
Castle Park 5, Bonita Vista 0
Sweetwater 7, San Ysidro 1

Group B Standings
Hilltop 4-0
Otay Ranch 3-1
Chula Vista 2-2
Southwest 1-3
Mar Vista 0-4

Scoreboard
Hilltop 3, Southwest 0
Otay Ranch 7, Chula Vista 3
Hilltop 8, Mar Vista 0
Otay Ranch 5, Southwest 4
Chula Vista 3, Mar Vista 1
Hilltop 4, Otay Ranch 2
Southwest 2, Mar Vista 1
Hilltop 3, Chula Vista 0
Otay Ranch 6, Mar Vista 3
Chula Vista 5, Southwest 1

Championship Playoffs
Monday, Jan. 21

Silver Division
Semifinals:
Sweetwater 7, Mar Vista 1
Southwest 2, San Ysidro 1
Third place: Mar Vista 3, San Ysidro 0
Championship: Sweetwater 8, Southwest 1

Gold Division
Quarterfinals:
Eastlake 9, Chula Vista 2
Otay Ranch 10, Bonita Vista 9 (OT)
Byes: Castle Park, Hilltop

Semifinals:
Eastlake 8, Hilltop 5
Otay Ranch 6, Castle Park 4

Championship: Eastlake 10, Otay Ranch 5

 

Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
Bonita Optimist/Pam Wiser Classic

 

 

 

Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
Regular season games Jan. 22-25