It might have seemed like a mismatch on paper: the second-seeded Hilltop Lancers with a student population of approximately 2,200 students and the seventh-seeded San Diego Jewish Academy Lions with an enrollment of 175 high school students.
But the San Diego Section playoffs have a reputation for leveling the playing field, and the Lions proved to be bracket buster in this year’s Division IV field after knocking off the host Lancers, 2-1, in a quarterfinal match-up on a rain-soaked playing field Thursday night.
Rain did not fall from the skies after heavy downpours deluged the region throughout the morning and afternoon hours on Thursday but the Lions rained down two goals on the Hilltop net in the first half of play that proved to be the difference in the contest.
The Lancers, who entered the game with an imposing 19-5-4 record, saw their season abruptly come to a halt while the Lions take a more modest 10-7-2 record into next Tuesday’s division semifinals against the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal match between third-seeded Monte Vista (14-8-3) and sixth-seeded Clairemont (13-6-1).
The Division IV boys championship game is scheduled Feb. 23 at Hilltop High School. What hurts the most is that the Lancers will not be able to showcase what has otherwise been a season filled with superlatives.
“My heart is broken 100 percent for this team,” Hilltop head coach John Salts said following the upset loss. “These boys have worked so hard this season. With our Grossmont tournament championship, the championship in our tournament (Quin Murphy/San Diego County Cup), and having the No. 1 record in the county, everything was lined up.
“The kids are very heartbroken right now. They played with 100 percent energy and 100 percent heart tonight.”
In retrospect, maybe the Lancers played with too much energy, forcing passes where they shouldn’t have been made and losing concentration at times on where the ball was, leading to unnecessary turnovers.
The Lions, in contrast, obviously entered the David versus Goliath contest with a dedicated game plan and stuck to it throughout the game. The visitors ran every play at full speed and employed a strong defensive scheme that continually disrupted Hilltop offensive thrusts throughout the first half.
When the Lancers did get something going, SDJA goalkeeper Alejandro Goldstein was there to make the clutch save.
The Lions definitely earned their two first-half goals. The first came with 17 minutes left in a scoreless first half on a 30-yard free kick from Devin Marcus that was placed perfectly to the far post on a somewhat sharp angle.
The Lions made the score 2-0 in the waning seconds when Mark Mizrahi, blazing down the sideline, blasted a shot from nearly the same spot past the diving Hilltop goalkeeper.
But with only two substitutes on the bench, the Lions faced adversity in the second half as they noticeably tired as the game drew on.
The Lancers attacked in waves throughout the entire second half, forcing Goldstein to make several sensational saves. In one sequence, he dove to get just a touch on the ball, sending it bouncing off the bottom of the post a few feet to his left. In another sequence to dove to the opposite post to make a fingertip save, pushing the ball away from the goal line.
Hilltop had one goal disallowed due to an offside call with 31 minutes left in the second half before Marcos Calderon successfully converted on a penalty kick two minutes later to trim the SDJA lead to 2-1.
The Lancers increased their tempo of play but Goldstein proved equal to the task despite being hobbled somewhat in the late stages after a collision outside the goal box.
Hilltop took several more shots at Goldstein but could not place the ball where he wasn’t to tie the game and force overtime.
“We were too nervous (at the start),” Salts noted. “We couldn’t get our adrenaline under control. We made too many passes and didn’t take more shots. But we never gave up, we played with heart, and, in my book, that’s the mark of a champion.”
Hilltop finishes the season with an overall 19-6-4 record and seven shutouts. But posting that championship-clinching win proved elusive in the late going.
The Lancers finished runner-up to west side rival Chula Vista in the South Bay League standings, and have now had their CIF championship hopes dashed by the Lions, who now have everything to play for in their remaining games this season.
Hilltop will lose 12 seniors off this season’s squad, three of whom were key starters. Salts suggested his team has enough returning firepower to make another championship run next season, though he admitted this year’s scenario was a perfect set-up for greatness.
Hear these Lions roar
SDJA slipped past 10th-seeded Vincent Memorial in a kicks-from-the-mark tiebreaker in Tuesday’s opening round. The teams battled through a scoreless regulation and overtime period, with the Lions eventually prevailing 5-4 in the shootout tiebreaker.
SDJA fields 13 varsity sports and has a no-cut athletics policy. The boys soccer team has 26 players on this year’s roster, 10 of whom are seniors and eight of whom are key contributors.
The San Diego campus, which includes a preschool, middle school (K-5) and upper school (grades 6-12), is located in Carmel Valley. The student population is approximately 40 percent Mexican-Hebrew.
Watching them play Thursday night, it’s obvious the Lions have a genuine passion for the sport.
Corner kicks
South Bay League champion Chula Vista ended its season in disappointing fashion after falling, 1-0, to visiting Central Union in a match-up of teams with Spartans nicknames.
Chula Vista, seeded ninth, hosted eighth-seeded Central Union from El Centro, as a league champion. The host Spartans dominated the early stages of the game but could not produce that elusive go-ahead goal.
Central Union (13-4-5) did produce that goal in the second half off a free kick near the edge of the penalty box by leading scorer Vasilio Syrengelas.
Chula Vista had won the league title with an 8-1-1 record, splitting their season series against league runner-up Hilltop.
Five of the seven Mesa League teams earned playoff bids.
The league champion Eastlake Titans, seeded third in the Division I field, will host sixth-seeded Westview (10-8-5) in Friday’s Division I quarterfinals. The Titans, who finished 9-2-1 in league play, carry a 12-6-2 overall record into the elimination game.
The Eastlake-Westview winner advances to next Tuesday’s semifinal match against the quarterfinal winner between fourth-seeded Poway(7-5-6) and fifth-seeded Del Norte (6-8-5).
Bonita Vista, seeded 12th in the Division II field, lost 4-1 at fifth-seeded Santana in Tuesday’s opening round while Southwest, seeded 11th in the Division I field, ended its season with a 3-0 first-round loss at Westview.
Otay Ranch, seeded seventh in the Division II field, suffered a 3-2 upset loss to 10th-seeded UCSD Preuss in Tuesday’s opening round while San Ysidro, seeded ninth in the Division II field, lost 3-0 at eighth-seeded University City in the opening round.
Mission Bay (12-2-1) is seeded first in the Division IV boys bracket while Ramona (14-11-1) is seeded fourth.
Metro Conference 2018-19
Boys Soccer Standings
Mesa League
Eastlake Titans 9-2-1, 12-6-2
Bonita Vista Barons 7-5-0, 9-10-2
Southwest Raiders 4-7-1, 8-11-4
Otay Ranch Mustangs 4-5-3, 9-9-3
Montgomery Aztecs 5-7-1, 9-10-4
San Ysidro Cougars 4-6-1, 8-14-5
Castle Park Trojans 3-7-2, 7-13-3
South Bay League
Chula Vista Spartans 8-1-1, 12-9-2
Hilltop Lancers 5-2-3, 19-6-4
Olympian Eagles 4-3-3, 7-11-5
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 3-4-2, 5-10-4
Sweetwater Red Devils 3-5-2, 11-12-3
Mar Vista Mariners 1-9-1, 1-14-4
Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
SDJA Lions 2, Hilltop Lancers 1
CIF finals: Hilltop High School to host six divisional soccer championship games
Hilltop High School will serve as the championship venue for six division finals in this year’s San Diego Section soccer playoffs.
The west side Chula Vista school will showcase its new artificial turf athletic field for two championship games on Friday, Feb. 22, and four championship games on Saturday, Feb. 23.
The championship schedule on Feb. 22 features the Division V boys title game at 5 p.m. and the Division V girls title game at 7:30 p.m.
The championship schedule on Feb. 23 spotlights the Division IV girls final at 11 a.m., followed by the Division IV boys final at 1:30 p.m., the Division II girls final at 4:30 p.m. and the Division II boys final at 7 p.m.
The school’s new turf field was already tested by pouring rain at times during Wednesday’s girls double header that saw 10th-seeded Hilltop (11-6-7) end its season with a 2-1 overtime loss to seventh-seeded Valley Center (9-3-7) in a first-round Division III game and fifth-seeded Bonita Vista (16-4-3) eliminate 12th-seeded Olympian (13-10-6) by a score of 3-1 in a Division II first-round contest.
Arely Salcedo opened scoring in the match for Hilltop, which seemed to have the better run of play throughout the first half. But Soleil Escalante tied the match on a shot high into the net.
Valley Center’s Angela Hernandez later scored the game-winner in overtime.
Bonita Vista will next play fourth-seeded Helix on Saturday, Feb. 16, at 5 p.m.
Olympian defeated Fallbrook, 2-1, on Monday in a play-in game to meet the Barons in Wednesday’s rain-soaked contest.
Mission Bay High School will host the Open Division, Division I and Division III championship games. Visit the website at www.cifsds.org for updated schedules.
Getting their kicks
In Saturday’s upcoming quarterfinals:
Mesa League champion Eastalke (14-7-5) will play at third-seeded Rancho Bernardo (10-6-3) in a Division I match-up. The sixth-seeded Titans, who finished 10-2 in league play, eliminated 11th-seeded Mission Hills, 4-0, in Wednesday’s opening round.
Fourth-seeded Mater Dei Catholic, which finished 8-1-1 in South Bay League play, will host fifth-seeded Montgomery (13-11-0) in a Division III quarterfinal match.
The Aztecs, who finished 6-6-0 in Mesa League play, advanced to meet the Crusaders (14-2-2 overall) with a 2-0 win over 12th-seeded Sage Creek in Wednesday’s opening round.
Ninth-seeded Chula Vista, which finished 3-4-5 in Mesa League play, will play at top-seeded San Diego in another Division III quarterfinal contest. The Spartans (10-11-8) edged eighth-seeded Santa Fe Christian, 5-3, in a tiebreaker shootout in Wednesday’s opening round after the teams had deadlocked 1-1 through regulation and overtime.
Great Eight
Which teams are favored to advance to the finals at Hilltop High School in Division II, Division IV and Division V?
The eight teams remaining in the Division II boys bracket include: top-seeded Hoover (16-6-4), second-seeded Mission Hills (11-6-6), third-seeded Crawford (14-7-2), fourth-seeded Oceanside (15-4-3), fifth-seeded Santana (16-6-4), eighth-seeded University City (9-7-6), 10th-seeded UCSD Preuss Academy (14-3-3) and 11th-seeded San Dieguito Academy (8-12-3.
The eight teams remaining in the Division II girls bracket include:top-seeded San Marcos (9-5-7), second0-seeded Boshopo’s (12-5-1), third-seeded Rancho Bernardo (10-6-3), fourth-seeded Poway (7-9-3), fifth-seeded Granite Hills (11-8-4), sixth-seeded Eastlake (14-7-5), ninth-seeded Steele Canyon (9-13-3) and 10th-seeded El Camino (10-9-1).
The eight teams remaining in the Division IV boys bracket include: top-seeded Mission Bay (12-2-1), third-seeded Monte Vista (14-8-3), fourth-seeded Ramona (14-11-1), fifth-seeded La Jolla Country Day (17-6-4), sixth-seeded Clairemont (13-6-1), seventh-seeded San Diego Jewish Academy (10-7-2) and ninth-seeded Mission Vista (5-10-5).
The eight teams remaining in the Division IV girls bracket include: top-seeded Vista (15-4-4), second-seeded Ramona (12-7-3), third-seeded Pacific Ridge (11-3), fourth-seeded Mountain Empire (18-3-1), fifth-seeded Escondido (9-13-1), sixth-seeded Brawley (20-4-4), eighth-seeded Classical Academy (10-8) and 10th-seeded High Tech High North County (13-6-1).
The eight teams remaining in the Division V boys bracket include: top-seeded Santa Fe Christian (14-2-4), second-seeded Classical Academy (12-6-2), third-seeded High Tech High San Diego (14-13-2), fourth-seeded Maranatha Christian (9-7-4), fifth-seeded El Capitan (11-15), eighth-seeded High Tech High North County (11-5-1), 10th-seeded High Tech High Chula Vista (7-8-3) and 11th-seeded Madison (9-8-1).
High Tech Chula Vista recorded a 1-0 upset win at seventh-seeded Palo Verde Valley in Tuesday’s opening round.’
The eight teams remaining in the Division V girls bracket include: top-seeded Gompers (15-1-1), second-seeded River Valley (9-2-3), third-seeded Hoover (15-9-1), fourth-seeded Holtville (6-11-4), fifth-seeded West Shores (14-7-1), sixth-seeded Kearny (12-8-2), seventh-seeded Liberty Charter (7-9-4) and eighth-seeded Mount Miguel (6-10-2).
Liberty Charter edged 10th-seeded Health Sciences, 1-0, while Kearny eliminated 11th-seeded Bayfront Charter by an 8-0 score.
Metro Conference 2018-19
Girls Soccer Standings
Mesa League
Eastlake 10-2, 14-7-5
Bonita Vista 9-1-2, 16-4-3
Olympian 5-3-4, 11-10-6
Montgomery 6-6-0, 13-11-0
Chula Vista 3-4-5, 10-11-8
Otay Ranch 2-7-3, 4-10-4
Mar Vista 0-12, 5-19-0
South Bay League
Mater Dei Catholic 8-1-1, 14-2-2
Hilltop 7-0-3, 11-6-7
San Ysidro 3-4-3, 8-13-4
Southwest 1-5-4, 1-12-5
Castle Park 2-6-2, 7-14-3
Sweetwater 2-7-1, 9-10-4
USA international Landon Donovan ventures into great indoors with Sockers
For those who failed to attend Friday’s Sockers match against the Tacoma Stars at Ron Newman Field at Pechanga Arena San Diego, they missed a one-of-a-kind viewing experience as USA international outdoor soccer star Landon Donovan made his indoor soccer debut for the hometown team.
Friday’s match (Feb. 15) between the Sockers and the Stars kicked off in front of a lively gathering of 8,492 fans that set a franchise attendance record in the Sockers’ Major Arena Soccer League era since 2009.
The large crowd proved the region’s soccer community still loves Donovan, one of the most decorated players in the history of the sport in the United States, and still loves the Sockers, one of the most storied indoor soccer franchises in history.
Donovan, 36, picked up an assist on what proved to be the game winning goal for the Sockers in a 6-4 win over the Stars.
The Sockers improved their record to 13-1 with the victory while the Stars fell to 6-7 on the season. The teams rematch Sunday in Tacoma.
Stars in their eyes
Considered one of the greatest outdoor soccer players in United States history, Donovan set numerous records for the U.S. men’s senior national teams as well as in Major League Soccer over a career that first began in 1998 with the U.S. U17 team.
Donovan may be best remembered domestically as a member of MLS’s L.A. Galaxy where he scored 112 goals in 247 matches from 2005-14, 2016. He won six MLS championship cups during his own storied career and earned a legacy as the league’s all-time scoring leader.
He made 157 appearances with U.S. national outdoor teams from 2000-14. He appeared in six games for Leon in Mexico’s Liga MX in 2018.
Upon signing with the Sockers, he said his goals are to “win, have fun and entertain.”
“I’m joining a great team and hoping I can augment that,” the Southern California native said. “They have 14 championships and want that 15th.”
The Sockers may finally get it with Donovan in tow.
Donovan signed with the Sockers on Jan. 24. The high caliber signing underscored the MASL’s goal to establish its reputation as a competitive force within the U.S. soccer landscape. The MASL features 17 teams across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“We are thrilled to announce that one of the greatest soccer stars in U.S. history is joining the Major Arena Soccer League,” MASL commissioner Joshua Schaub noted in the wake of Donvaon’s signing with the Sockers. “Quality signings like Landon and Dwayne DeRosario (a four-time MLS Cup champion with the Missassauga MASL franchise) bring an entirely new level of professionalism and recognition to this league and to arena soccer as a whole. It’s an exciting time for the MASL and we’re very lucky to have him.”
Sockers owner/coach Phil Salvagio called Donovan “not only a world class player but also been a big ambassador for the sport of soccer in San Diego.”
“We’re thrilled that he’s decided to join our squad and continue his mission to make San Diego a top soccer city,” Salvagio said after the club inked one of the most recognizable names in U.S. soccer history.
Fans were definitely thrilled to see Donovan performing in a Sockers uniform. He was announced as part of the team’s starting lineup on Friday and strode onto the field as the last player to exit through the Sockers’ iconic sign logo during pregame introductions.
He played midfield and gradually worked himself into the flow of the game. He didn’t embarrass himself with any glaring mistakes and proved to be a steady addition to the team’s lineup that was missing Kraig Chiles, the club’s all-time leading scorer, who was out with a hamstring injury.
The Sockers broke a 1-1 first quarter standoff with the Stars on the strength of four second quarter goals to take a commanding 5-1 lead at halftime.
It took just 12 seconds on a power play late in the first half for Donovan to earn his first point with the Sockers. While working from the low left corner, he fed a centering pass through defenders to the far post to teammate Brandon Escoto, who tapped in the ball for his team leading 18th goal of the season.
Former Socker Nick Perera scored two goals in the third quarter for the Stars, who closed to within 6-4 on the scoreboard when Troy Peterson scored on a rebound at 2:43 of the fourth quarter. But the Sockers’ defense held firm and kept the visitors off the scoreboard despite the Stars playing with a sixth attacker for more than three minutes in the waning stages of the contest.
Brian Farber, Cesar Cerda, Juan Gonzalez, Guerrero Pino, Escoto and Travis Pittman each scored goals for the Sockers. The veteran Farber left the game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury.
Donovan admitted he was impressed by the rich atmosphere that greeted his debut with the Sockers.
“It’s awesome, and this team deserves it,” Donovan said in a post-game press conference. “It’s the best team in the league, the most storied franchise in soccer history, and the players deserve it. I think the crowd got to know a lot of these players tonight, see great goals, and their personalities shine, it’s a win-win for everyone.”
It’s likely the Sockers made a sea of new fans on Friday.
Corner kicks
The only downbeat item on Friday’s check list was the pregame announcement of the death of former Sockers legend Fernando Clavijo, who passed away on Feb. 8 in Ft. Lauderdale at the age of 63 after battling multiple myeloma for five years.
The Sockers held a moment of silence for the former defender, who won three championships during his four years with he team, prior to the singing of the national anthem. Clavijo, a native of Uruguay, played for the Sockers from 1984-88 and tallied 49 goals in 187 appearances.
He made 61 appearances for the U.S. national men’s outdoor team from 1990-94 and appeared in eight games for the U.S. futsal team in 1992 in which the USA took second place at the world championships.
He coached professional at both the indoor and outdoor level, starting in 1991 with the Seattle Storm and later serving as head coach of the New England Revolution and Colorado Rapids in MLS.
He was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005.
The Sockers return to Ron Newman Field at Pechanga Arena on March 1 to face the Turlock Express.
