The Eastlake High School girls field hockey team received the No. 1 seed among Division II teams in this year’s San Diego Section playoffs. The Lady Titans got right to work by defeating ninth-seeded Point Loma, 5-0, in quarterfinal-round action on Monday.
Taylor Tropp scored two goals while Brittney Buu, Noelle Ertzner and Ariana Lorenzana each scored one goal. Gloriana Hinojosa was required to make one goalkeeper save in the game.
The win rolled Eastlake’s season record to 20-0 after finishing 12-0 in league play. The shutout was the team’s 18thof the season, including one forfeit win.
Tropp scored the first goal with four minutes into the game and the Titans never stopped working, according to head coach Robert Blas.
“Midfielders Olivia Sekimoto, Alexis Monis and Brittney Buu provided the work needed in the middle and the defense earned its 18th shutout of the season behind junior Marissa Garcia and sophomores Sierra Tufts, Ashley Harvey and Tori Inumerable.”
The dominating win advanced the Lady Titans to Wednesday’s semifinals against fourth-seeded Mission Hills. There were two goals scored in the game — both by Mission Hills junior Simran Bath— as the visiting Lady Grizzlies (15-9) pulled off a 2-0 upset victory.
Despite coming off the big playoff win over Point Loma, Blas said his team had its “hands full with Mission Hills.”
Bath scored her first goal 18 minutes into the game and Mission Hills led 1-0 at halftime.
The Lady Titans battled throughout the remainder of the game but the evening belonged to Mission Hills when Bath scored her second goal with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
It marked the second consecutive year that Eastlake, seeded first, was eliminated in the semifinals.
“It was a great season by the Lady Titans,” Blas offered at season’s end.
The coach pointed to the team’s final 20-1 record with 17 shutout victories (excluding the forfeit win) and a Metro Conference championship as proof of the team’s otherwise stellar campaign.
Tropp finished the season with 30 goals and 18 assists to lead the team in scoring; Lorenzana ranked second in team scoring with 14 goals and two assists.
Hinojosa finished with a 19-1 record and 0.3 goals-per-game average.
The last time Eastlake won a league title came in 2003 as members of the Harbor League.
Mission Hills will meet second-seeded Westview (19-8) in Saturday’s Division II championship game. Match time is 11 a.m. at Serra High School.
Southwest recorded a history-making campaign with its 2-1 first-round playoff win at seventh-seeded Granite Hills in a Division II match on Nov. 11. Kayleigh Andrew and Fatima Farias scored goals for the 10th-seeded Lady Raiders (17-9).
Southwest, the runner-up team in the Metro standings, ended its season with a 7-1 loss at second-seeded Westview in Monday’s quarterfinals.
San Diego Section 2017
Girls Field Hockey Playoffs
Open Division
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Nov. 14
(1) Serra 10, (8) Patrick Henry 8
(4) Cathedral Catholic 3, (5) Canyon Crest Academy 0
(6) San Pasqual 1, (3) Scripps Ranch 0
(2) Rancho Buena Vista 2, (7) Torrey Pines 1
Semifinals
Thursday, Nov. 16
(1) Serra 7, (4) Cathedral Catholic 0
(6) San Pasqual 3, (2) Rancho Buena Vista 1
Saturday, Nov. 18
Serra High School
Open Division: (1) Serra-(25-0) vs. (6) San Pasqual (17-5), 3 p.m.
Division I
First round
Saturday, Nov. 11
(8) La Costa Canyon 2, (9) Hilltop 1
(5) Bishop’s 3, (12) Rancho Bernardo 1
(6) Del Norte 4, (11) Fallbrook 0
(7) Helix 3, (10) Valley Center 1
Byes: (1) Vista, (2) Mission Vista, (3) Poway, (4) La Jolla
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Nov. 14
(1) Vista 1, (8) La Costa Canyon 0
(4) La Jolla 1, (5) Bishop’s 0
(3) Poway 3, (6) Del Norte 0
(2) Mission Vista 3, (7) Helix 0
Semifinals
Thursday, Nov. 16
(4) La Jolla 3, (1) Vista 1
(2) Mission Vista 3, (3) Poway 1
Saturday, Nov. 18
Serra High School
Division I: (2)Mission Vista (15-11-1) vs. (4) La Jolla (13-10), 1 p.m.
Division II
First round
Saturday, Nov. 11
(9) Point Loma 3, (8) El Capitan 0
(5) University City 5, (12) Santana 0
(11) San Dieguito Academy 2, (6) Mt. Carmel 1
(10) Southwest 2, (7) Granite Hills 1
Byes: (1) Eastlake, (2) Westview, (3) San Marcos, (4) Mission Hills
Quarterfinals
Monday, Nov. 13
(1) Eastlake 5, (9) Point Loma 0
(4) Mission Hills 3, (5) University Cty 0
(3) San Marcos 1, (11) San Dieguito Academy 0
(2) Westiew 7, (10) Southwest 1
Semifinals
Wednesday, Nov. 15
(4) Mission Hills 2, (1) Eastlake 0
(2) Westview 1, (3) San Marcos 0
Championship
Saturday, Nov. 18
Serra High School
Division II: (2) Westview (19-8) vs. (4) Mission Hills (15-9), 11 a.m.
Division I: (3) Poway-(2)Mission Vista winner vs. (4) La Jolla, 1 p.m.
Open Division: (1) Serra-(4) Cathedral Catholic winner vs. (6) San Pasqual-(2) Rancho Buena Vista winner, 3 p.m.
