The Southwest High School girls soccer team finished runner-up in the Class 2A San Diego Section finals in both 1984 and 1985. It’s been a long wait since then for the Lady Raiders to make a return to the championship round.
They did that — and more — last Saturday morning at Olympian High School when they captured the Division IV title by a 1-0 score over Sage Creek.
Chica Rojas scored the lone goal of the match in the 34th minute and goalkeeper Consuelo Michel recorded the shutout victory.
Head coach Memo Medina said his team fully realizes and appreciates its place in history as the first Southwest team to win a CIF banner in girls soccer.
“Being that it’s the school’s first banner in girls soccer is an achievement that the entire team is extremely proud of,” Medina explained. “Our school has a rich history in soccer, thanks to it being a soccer community, and to now solidify our identity as CIF champions is an accomplishment that everyone, students, staff, alumni, parents and community members can all celebrate.”
The Lady Raiders (12-9-2) began their journey as Metro-South Bay League champions by finishing 4-2-0 in league play — one standing point ahead of Montgomery (3-1-2 in league play).
Southwest, seeded fourth in this year’s divisional playoffs, defeated fifth-seeded Preuss UCSD, 4-0, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 26.
The Lady Raiders then advanced to the championship game after recording a 2-1 upset over top-seeded Fallbrook on Feb. 29.
Southwest tied the match at a goal apiece against the Lady Warriors (15-6-4) before Elena Perez struck for the game-winner with less than two minutes to play as she lofted a high ball that floated over the goalkeeper’s hands but under the crossbar.
Sage Creek (7-10-2) eliminated sixth-seeded Montgomery, 4-1, in the semifinals to advance to last Saturday’s championship game. The Lady Bobcats are a first-year varsity program and have no seniors on their roster.
Southwest High School principal Lee Romero said the turnaround in the sports scene at the South San Diego school has been due to the infusion of coaches who have motivated students on campus to get involved in sports.
“I think our success has been due to bringing in coaches who have encouraged a lot of our students to get involved,” Romero noted. “Our coaches are a great bunch of guys.”
Southwest ended its season with a 3-1 loss at top-seeded La Mirada in Tuesday’s Southern California regional Division IV quarterfinals. The Lady Raiders entered the tournament seeded eighth.
Corner kicks
Southwest’s boys soccer team, seeded third in the Division I bracket, advanced as far as the quarterfinals before dropping a 3-2 match in kicks from the mark to sixth-seeded Rancho Buena Vista on Feb. 27.
Southwest tied the match in the final minute of regulation play on a goal by Gustavo Andrade before falling in the KFM tiebreaker following a scoreless overtime period.
“We had poor penalty shots,” Southwest head coach Giovanni Medina explained. “The coach from RBV said we were the best team they had played all year. But they were a good team also … We missed a lot of opportunities in the first half alone.”
The Raiders finished the season 12-6-4.
