This season’s Metro-Mesa League boys soccer championship came down to wins and ties and the number of each one for the Eastlake Titans and Hilltop Lancers.
The teams finished in a 2-2 draw in their climactic match-up Tuesday at Hilltop. Prior to that, Eastlake defeated host Bonita Vista, 3-0, the previous Thursday while Hilltop drew 2-2 against visiting Olympian.
The teams maintained their spread in Thursday’s final regular season matches as the Titans topped visiting Southwest and the Lancers edged visiting Bonita Vista by a score of 3-2.
Wins are worth three points in the standings while ties are worth one point.
Eastlake (8-4-5 overall) finished with a 5-1-2 league record and 17 standings points while Hilltop (9-5-6 overall) finished 4-0-4 in league play (undefeated) with 16 points. Both teams finished with 0.750 winning percentages.
It was a tight fit.
Both the Titans and Lancers will now look forward to proving themselves on the pitch in the upcoming divisional playoffs. Eastlake holds down the No. 9 ranking among Division I teams entering Saturday’s seeding meeting while Hilltop is ranked next in the division at No. 10.
Excluding making the top eight Open Division, both local sides could be ranked 1-2 among the remaining Division I teams with yet another potential meeting in the cards.
“We have a good team with depth — not any superstars but playing well together as a team,” EHS head coach Giovanni Medina said.
Junior Rei Kanazawa scored the opening two goals in the chilly nighttime match at Bonita Vista while senior Ames Ghermai placed a shot into the top corner while on the run to complete scoring in the match. Senior Jacob Ramirez received credit for the assist on the game’s opening goal scored seven minutes before halftime while senior goalkeeper Gonzalo Gurrola received credit for the shutout win.
Senior Nicolas Sanchez leads Hilltop in season scoring with 17 goals and four assists in 16 games, followed on the scoresheet by freshman Christopher Camacho with four goals and four assists, senior Alberto Camacho with four goals and three assists and junior Jorge Lopez Figueroa with five goals and one assist.
Senior goalkeeper Noah Castillo has appeared in 18 matches with 1.59 goals allowed per match while junior Manny Pablos has appeared in 10 matches with 1.042 goals allowed per match.
As a team, the Lancers have recorded four shutouts.
Southwest (7-6-9 overall) and Bonita Vista (6-8-3 overall) both finished 2-4-2 in league play while Olympian (4-16-4 overall) finished 1-5-2 in league.
Bonita Vista is ranked 16th among Division I teams while Southwest is No. 17. Both teams will be entered in the Division I field, though likely near the lower end of the bracket.
Mater Dei Catholic (15-1-4) and Sweetwater (14-6-4) both carry prolific overall records into Saturday’s seeding meeting. Sweetwater ranks 13th among Division II schools while Olympian i 17th in the division. Mater Dei Catholic ranks No. 2 among Division III teams while Otay Ranch ranks No. 8, Chula Vista No. 12 and Montgomery No. 19.
San Ysidro, which finished runner-up in December’s San Diego County Cup, is ranked No. 8 in Division II. The Cougars opened up a 2-0 lead on Calexico in the tournament championship game only to see the Bulldogs march back with four unanswered goal to claim a 4-2 victory.
Central Union (20-2-3) enters Saturday’s seeding meeting at the top of the Division III power rankings.
Castle Park ranks No. 15 among Division IV teams. Meanwhile, Mar Vista, Bayfront Charter (7-12-2) and High Tech High Chula Vista (5-10-2) are ranked eighth through 10th among Division V schools.
A pair of South County schools could find success in the Division V-AA field. Ocean View Christian Academy (11-4-1) is ranked third while CLVCC (7-11-3) is ranked fourth.
Ocean View Christian finished 9-1 in the Frontier-Pioneer League standings alongside Mountain Empire (also 9-1 in league) in first place.
BOYS SOCCER STANDINGS
Metro-Mesa League standings
League/Overall
Eastlake 5-1-2, 8-4-5
Hilltop 4-0-4, 9-5-6
Bonita Vista 2-4-2, 6-8-3
Southwest 2-4-2, 7-6-9
Olympian 1-5-2, 4-16-4
Metro-South Bay League standings
League/Overall
Mater Dei Catholic 5-0-1, 15-1-4
Otay Ranch 2-1-3, 8-6-9
Chula Vista 1-2-2, 4-8-5
Castle Park 0-5, 4-10-4
Metro-Pacific League standings
League/Overall
San Ysidro 4-1-1, 9-6-5
Sweetwater 4-2-0, 14-6-4
Montgomery 2-4, 3-11-2
Mar Vista 1-4-1, 3-8-4
GIRLS SOCCER STANDINGS
Metro-Mesa League
League/Overall
Eastlake 6-0-2, 13-2-5
Bonita Vista 5-2-1, 10-5-1
Mater Dei Catholic 3-4-1, 9-6-2
Otay Ranch 2-6-0, 8-7-3
Olympian 2-6-0, 7-12-1
Metro-South Bay League
League/Overall
Hilltop 5-0-1, 14-5-2
Montgomery 3-2-1, 13-7-2
Southwest 3-3-0, 9-10-1
Sweetwater 0-6, 9-12-1
Metro-Pacific League
League/Overall
San Ysidro 5-0-1, 9-8-2
Mar Vista 3-2-1, 8-11-1
Chula Vista 3-3-0, 3-13-0
Castle Park 0-6-0, 6-10-1
RANKINGS NOTEPAD
Division I: Eastlake is No. 2 while Bonita Vista is No. 5 as both rival jockey for position for inclusion in the Open Division. Mater Dei Catholic is No. 12 and will compete alongside the remaining Division I teams.
Division II: Otay Ranch is No. 10 while Olympian is No. 14.
Division III: Hilltop is No. 2 while Montgomery is No. 8. Sweetwater is No. 18.
Division IV: Southwest is No. 5 while San Ysidro is No. 16. Mar Vista is No. 17 while Chula Vista is No. 20.
Division V: Castle Park is No. 6, Bayfront Charter is No. 10 while HTH Chula Vista is No. 13.
