The high school roller hockey season is starting to wind down, with just three more weeks of regular season play before the start of the Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs. Twelve of the CIF-Metro Conference’s 17 teams will qualify for post-season play. Four Sweetwater district teams advanced to last year’s tournament and possibly the same number could be in line to go this year as well.
The Mesa League and South Bay League champions each receive automatic berths in the playoffs. Two-time defending league champion Eastlake has a one-game lead over arch rival Otay Ranch in the Mesa League standings while Castle Park has a half-game lead over both Chula Vista and Mar Vista in a race too close to call at this point.
Castle Park is 3-1 in South Bay League play while both Chula Vista and Mar Vista are 2-1.
“With only eight games in league, every game now is becoming like a championship game,” Chula Vista coach Matt Diaz said after his team scored a tense 2-0 non-league victory against Bonita Vista on Jan. 27.
Eastlake skated past Chula Vista, 21-0, in a non-league encounter Monday at the Castle Park High School rink. The score was a bit misleading as the Spartans actually gave the Titans quite a bit to handle, especially early in the contest. Eastlake led 4-0 at the end of the first period but blew open the contest with nine goals in the middle period to jump out to a 13-0 advantage on the scoreboard.
Aaron Mayer increased his season scoring total to 108 points by leading all point-getters in Monday’s game with 14 points on seven goals and seven assists. This marks the third consecutive season that Mayer has hit the 100-point mark. He set a conference scoring record last season with 158 points and is ahead of last year’s pace through the Titans’ opening 13 games this season.
Mayer played out from a defensive position, setting up four goals by teammate William Hamilton and three more by teammate Michael Mechling.
Hamilton, the team’s top-scoring freshman, finished the game with five goals. Mechling tallied four goals and four assists in the game.
Seiya Hagiya recorded a hat trick for the Titans while teammate Sean Layton contributed two goals and two assists. Jose Campos received credit for two assists.
The Titans raised their season record to 12-1. Eastlake will play a total of four games this week, with non-league road games scheduled Tuesday against Scripps Ranch and Thursday against St. Augustine and a Wednesday Mesa League game.
“We should know a lot about how we stack up with the rest of the teams in the county by the end of this week,” EHS coach Ron Cole said.
Mayer is currently ahead of last year’s record-setting totals of 158 points and leads the North County League’s two top scorers: Rancho Bernardo’s Spencer Ridout (89 points) and Poway’s Eric Wright (76 points). All three players are projected to finish with more than 100 points over a 20-game regular season schedule.
In other non-league games on Monday:
Otay Ranch 11, Sweetwater 1
The Mustangs improved to 13-2 on the season by taming a much improved Sweetwater team. Devyn Taras led Otay Ranch with a goal and four assists while teammate David Mendez scored four goals. Aaron Marientes contributed two goals and one assist while Mustang teammates Paul Chavez and Rickey Portilla each chipped in with two goals and Javier Lopez collected two assists. Nicholas Fuentes and Milon Bivens were each credited with one assist.
Otay Ranch led, 3-0, after the opening period. The Red Devils then made it a 3-1 game on a goal by Luis Trevino, assisted by Daniel Zapeda. However, the Mustangs finished the second period with three unanswered goals to lead 6-1 and never looked back.
Hilltop 6, Mar Vista 3
The game was nip-and-tuck between both teams until the Lancers managed to pull away in the third period. Hilltop led, 4-3, through two periods. Andrew Tesner and Danny Godinez then scored goals in the third period to give Hilltop (12-4 overall) a cushion. Tesner, the Lancers’ scoring leader, led the winning effort with three goals and one assist while Ruben Abarazi and Cameron Adams each tacked on goals. Adams also registered an assist in the game.
MV scoring leader Eloy Rodriguez led the Mariners in a losing effort with two goals and one assist while Austin Hoffman scored once.
In a pair of non-league games played on Saturday, Jan. 31:
Hilltop 5, Castle Park 2
Andrew Tesner led the Lancers with a goal and two assists while teammate Ruben Abarzai scored two goals, and teammates Esteban Martinez and Antonio Lopez each scored one goal. Julian DeAlba and Marvin Ciriginano were credited with a goal apiece for Castle Park.
Otay Ranch 7, Mar Vista 3
David Mendez (four goals, one assist) and Ricky Portilla (two goals, three assists) each led the Mustangs with six points in the game. Eloy Rodriguez paced Mar Vista with a goal and assist.
CP Trojans closing in on first league title since 2003-04 season
Barring a late season collapse, it appears the Castle Park Trojans are in the best position to capture this year’s South Bay League roller hockey championship title. If so, it will be a long time coming for the Trojans, who have seen the Southwest Raiders dominate the league and before that the La Jolla Country Day Torreys, Mar Vista Mariners, Hilltop Lancers and Otay Ranch Mustangs.
Castle Park last won a South Bay League championship in the 2003-04 season. That’s 11 years and counting.
The Trojans rolled past the Sweetwater Red Devils by a score of 11-0 on Thursday to improve to 5-1 in league play and even their overall record at 7-7.
Chula Vista and Mar Vista – Castle Park’s two chief challengers for this year’s league title – skated to a 3-3 overtime tie also on Thursday to give the Trojans some added breathing room in the league standings.
Castle Park has two league games remaining while Chula Vista has three league games remaining and Mar Vista has four league games remaining.
The Trojans will crown themselves champions if they win out in their final two league games.
Jacob Ayala scored three goals while Miguel Flores added two goals and one assist and Marvin Ciriginano and Freddie Perez each scored twice to lead the Trojans past the Devils.
Castle Park dropped its opening league game to Chula Vista but has since gone undefeated in league play with five consecutive wins.
“We’re finally starting to get it together as a team,” CPHS assistant coach Horacio Mireles explained. “That’s the big part of being a playoff team.”
Mar Vista rolled out to a 3-0 lead on Chula Vista before the Spartans chipped away to tie the game and send it into overtime on two goals in the second period and a goal with 1:21 left in the third period.
The teams skated to a scoreless standout off in the five-minute sudden-victory overtime period.
David Garcia led Chula Vista with two goals while Marco Garcia scored one goal and Hector Garcia picked up one assist.
Adrian Contreras and Austin Hoffman paced Mar Vista with a goal and assist each while Cindy Moeller scored off a pass from team scoring leader Eloy Rodriguez.
In a non-league game Thursday:
Hilltop 2, Southwest 0
Danny Godinez broke a scoreless tie with a goal midway through the second period and then potted an insurance goal with 58 seconds to play in the final period to lead the Lancers. Andrew Tesner recorded the assist on Godinez’s opening goal. Andy Corrales received credit for the shutout victory.
The game marked the fourth time the teams have met on the season. All the games have been within two goals on the scoreboard, with Hilltop winning three and Southwest winning one.
In a pair of South Bay League games played Tuesday:
Castle Park 3, Chula Vista 1
Marvin Ciriginano, Julian DeAlba and Tavian Black each scored single goals to lead Castle Park to a critical 3-1 win over the Chula Vista Spartans. Hector Garcia, scored off a pass from David Garcia, for the Spartans’ lone goal.
Southwest 5, Sweetwater 0
The Raiders used a three-point nights from Hector Hernandez (two goals, one assist) and Joshua Lopez (one goal, two assists) to turn back the Red Devils, Nick Dowdle and Chantel Piedra each scored single goals for Southwest.
Titans make their mark with pair of one-goal thrillers
Watch out, it appears the Eastlake Titans could be hitting their stride after captuing a pair of one-goal thrillers, including one in overtime, in exciting match-ups this week against non-Sweetwater district teams.
The Titans defeated Scripps Ranch, 11-10, in a non-league game Tuesday at the Escondido Sports Center and followed that with an 8-7 overtime win over St. Augustine Thursday in a game played at Skate San Diego in El Cajon.
Eastlake 8, St. Augustine 7
The Titans clipped the Saints in an exciting overtime contest. The win raised the Titans’ season record to 15-1.
Aaron Mayer and Sam Bawden each scored three goals while Michael Mechling scored two goals, including the game-winner in OT.
“The game was a real nail biter, a great game for the fans, not so fun from the bench,” EHS coach Ron Cole explained. “We went ahead early, and seemed to have the game in hand, but they came back and went ahead, and it was back-and-forth like that until it was tied at the end. The final goal was scored less than a minute into the five-minute sudden-death overtime. The game was well attended by families, with lots of parents from both sides. It was fun and exciting for everyone, except the coaches.”
William Hamilton had two assists for Eastlake, as did Mayer, while Mechling and Sean Layton each had one assist.
Nick Heid led St. Augustine with three goals and three assists while Charlie Tomlin had two goals and one assist and Ian Harkness and Spencer Mishky each scored one goal.
Eastlake 11, Scripps Ranch 10
Cole had similar comments after Tuesday’s wild 11-10 non-league win against the Scripps Ranch Falcons at the Escondido Sports Center. Eastlake led early, 5-0, before the Falcons rallied to go ahead, 7-6, before the Titans reeled off three unanswered goals by Mayer to reclaim the lead at 9-7. The Falcons then tied the game, 9-9, before Eastlake went up by two goals, 11-9, with 1:27 to play in regulation.
Scripps Ranch scored a short-handed goal by freshman Matt Gauthier with 30 seconds to play to narrow the Titan lead to a goal, and then Gauthier made a rush on a clean breakaway in the final 13 seconcds. However. Eastlake netminder Kevin Hooks made a spectacular save and then blocked the rebound to quiet the Falcon cheers. “It happened really fast,” Hooks said. “I felt the puck hit me, but I stayed calm like my coach told me to do. I made the final save, but our offenense really won the game for us to be honest.”
Mayer led Eastlake with 10 points (six goals, four assists) in the highlight reel contest against Scripps Ranch while Mechling contributed four goals and one assist, Brian Anderson scored once and Sam Bawden had two assists. Mayer set up Mechling on what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Shaun Simmons led Scripps Ranch with 10 points on five goals and five assists.
“We had the lead for the first two periods, then they scored some goals and it was a shootout in the third period,” Cole said. “It was fun for the fans to watch, but I was biting my nails.”
Lancers building toward likely berth in Kiwanis Cup playoffs
At 14-5, the Hilltop Lancers are having a pretty good season, according to head coach Dan Vaccaro. The Lancers rolled past the Chula Vista Spartans, 5-1, in a non-league game on Friday to make a bid for a berth in the upcoming Kiwanis Cup playoffs. Danny Godinez scored three goals and team scoring leader Andrew Tesner tacked on a goal and three assists to buttress a solid defensive effort.
Hilltop built a 3-0 first period lead. Chula Vista scored the lone goal of the second period to pull to within 3-1 on the scoreboard but the Lancers closed out the game with the only two goals of the third period. Cameron Adams rounded out Hilltop’s scoring with one goal while Rubern Abarazi picked up two assists. Hector Garcia, assisted by David Garcia, scored the lone goal for the Spartans.
In another non-league game played Friday at the Castle Park High School rink:
Bonita Vista 4, Southwest 0
Matt Custodio scored two goals and Chris Miguel picked up a goal and assist to power the Barons offensively.
Sweetwater District Team Records
(Through Feb. 6, 2015)
Eastlake Titans 15-1
Otay Ranch Mustangs 14-3
Hilltop Lancers 14-5
Castle Park Trojans 8-7
Bonita Vista Barons 7-10
Chula Vista Spartans 6-10-1
Mar Vista Mariners 5-11-1
Southwest Raiders 5-11
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-16
CIF-Metro Conference Standings
(Through Feb. 6, 2015)
Mesa League Standings
Eastlake Titans 4-0, 15-1
Otay Ranch Mustangs 3-1, 14-3
Hilltop Lancers 1-3, 14-5
Bonita Vista Barons 0-4, 7-10
South Bay League Standings
Castle Park Trojans 5-1, 8-7
Mar Vista Mariners 2-1-1, 5-11-1
Chula Vista Spartans 2-2-1, 6-10-1
Southwest Raiders 2-2, 5-11
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-5, 0-16
Central League Standings
Cathedral Catholic Dons 5-0, 7-4
St. Augustine Saints 5-2, 7-10
West Hills Wolf Pack 2-5, 2-12
La Jolla Country Day Torreys 0-5, 1-13
North County League Standings
Rancho Bernardo Broncos 7-0, 14-0
Westview Wolverines 4-2, 11-4
Poway Titans 2-4, 9-4
Scripps Ranch 0-7, 5-9 (*1 overtime loss)
Saturday, Jan. 31
Non-League
Hilltop 5, Castle Park 2
Otay Ranch 7, Mar Vista 3
Monday, Feb. 2
Non-League
Hilltop 6, Mar Vista 3
Eastlake 21, Chula Vista 0
Otay Ranch 11, Sweetwater 1
Poway 16, La Jolla Country Day 3
St. Augustine 5, Scripps Ranch 4
Rancho Bernardo defeated Cathedral Catholic, score unavailable
Westview 10, West Hills 5
Tuesday, Feb. 3
South Bay League
Southwest 5, Sweetwater 2
Castle Park 3, Chula Vista 1
Non-League
Bonita Vista 3, Mar Vista 2
Eastlake 11, Scripps Ranch 10
Wednesday, Feb. 4
Mesa League
Eastlake 19, Bonita Vista 3
Otay Ranch 2, Hilltop 0
North County League
Rancho Bernardo 13, Scripps Ranch 0
Westview 6, Poway 5
Central League
La Jolla Country Day vs. Cathedral Catholic, postponed
St. Augustine 7, West Hills 3
Non-league
Mar Vista 5, Sweetwater 0
Thursday, Feb. 5
South Bay League
Castle Park 11, Sweetwater 0
Chula Vista 3, Mar Vista 3 (OT tie)
Non-League
Hilltop 2, Southwest 0
Eastlake 8, St. Augustine 7 (OT)
Friday, Feb. 6
Non-League
Bonita Vista 4, Southwest 0
Hilltop 5, Chula Vista 1
Castle Park defeated Otay Ranch by forfeit
CIF-Metro Conference Scoring Leaders
Sweetwater District Schools
(Through Feb. 6, 2015)
Player, team
Aaron Mayer (Eastlake) 84 goals, 50 assists – 134 points
Sam Bawden (Eastlake) 60 goals, 30 assists – 90 points
Michael Mechling (Eastlake) 45 goals, 29 assists – 74 points
David Mendez (Otay Ranch) 36 goals, 15 assists – 51 points
Devyn Taras (Otay Ranch) 23 goals, 25 assists – 48 points
Andrew Tesner (Hilltop) 24 goals, 17 assists – 41 points
Danny Godinez (Hilltop) 22 goals, 14 assists – 36 points
Eloy Rodriguez (Mar Vista) 26 goals, 4 assists – 30 points
Ricardo Portilla (Otay Ranch) 17 goals, 12 assists – 29 points
Hector Garcia (Chula Vista) 20 goals, 5 assists – 25 points
David Garcia (Chula Vista) 15 goals, 10 assists – 25 points
Sean Layton (Eastlake) 12 goals, 13 assists – 25 points
William Hamilton (Eastlake) 16 goals, 7 assists – 23 points
Marvin Cirignano (Castle Park) 20 goals, 2 assists – 22 points
Joshua Lopez (Southwest) 14 goals, 5 assists – 19 points
Jacob Ayala (Castle Park) 11 goals, 6 assists – 17 points
Miguel Flores (Castle Park) 11 goals, 3 assists – 14 points
Percilla Mayer (Eastlake) 5 goals, 9 assists – 14 points
Brian Anderson (Eastlake) 8 goals, 5 assists – 13 points
Leo Gurrola (Bonita Vista) 10 goals, 2 assists – 12 points
Phillip Brandon (Sweetwater) 9 goals, 3 assist – 12 points
Austin Hoffman (Mar Vista) 7 goals, 5 assists – 12 points
Adrian Contreras (Mar Vista) 8 goals, 2 assist – 10 points
Chris Miguel (Bonita Vista) 8 goals, 2 assists – 10 points
Matt Custodio (Bonita Vista) 8 goals, 2 assists – 10 points
Ruben Abarazi (Hilltop) 7 goals, 3 assists – 10 points
Cameron Adams (Hilltop) 8 goals, 2 assists – 10 points
Eleazar Cruz (Castle Park) 2 goals, 8 assists – 10 points
Esteban Martinez (Hilltop) 7 goals, 2 assists – 9 points
Julian DeAlba (Castle Park) 6 goals, 3 assists – 9 points
Brandon Benson (Eastlake) 4 goals, 5 assists – 9 points
Paul Chavez (Otay Ranch) 8 goals – 8 points
Brian Anderson (Eastlake) 5 goals, 3 assists – 8 points
Luis Trevino (Sweetwater) 4 goals, 4 assists – 8 points
Javier Garcia (Otay Ranch) 3 goals, 5 assists – 8 points
Hector Hernandez (Southwest) 4 goals, 3 assists – 7 points
Milo Bivens (Otay Ranch) 3 goals, 4 assists – 7 points
Freddie Perez (Castle Park) 3 goals, 4 assists – 7 points
Seiya Hagiya (Eastlake) 6 goals – 6 points
Aaron Marientes (Otay Ranch) 5 goals, 1 assist – 6 points
Nicholas Fuentes (Otay Ranch) 3 goals, 3 assists – 6 points
Gerardo Barragan (Hilltop) 5 goals – 5 points
Jake Dilliott (Mar Vista) 4 goals, 1 assist – 5 points
David Lopez (Castle Park) 3 goals, 2 assists – 5 points
Ryan Tabago (Otay Ranch) 4 goals, 1 assist – 5 points
Armando Rivera (Sweetwater) 3 goals, 2 assists – 5 points
Daniel Zapeda (Sweetwater) 3 goals, 1 assist – 4 points
Brandon Benson (Eastlake) 2 goals, 2 assists – 4 points
Allison Smith (Chula Vista) 2 goals, 2 assists – 4 points
Wyatt Schmidt (Hilltop) 1 goal, 3 assists – 4 points
Marco Garcia (Chula Vista) 1 goal, 3 assists – 4 points
Andrew Deguzman (Otay Ranch) 4 assists – 4 points
Overall Conference Scoring Leaders
(Through Feb. 2, 2015)
Aaron Mayer (Eastlake) 68 goals, 40 assists – 108 points
Spencer Ridout (Rancho Bernardo) 54 goals, 35 assists, 89 points
Sam Bawden (Eastlake) 52 goals, 27 assists – 79 points
Eric Wright (Poway) 53 goals, 23 assists – 76 points
Michael Mechling (Eastlake) 38 goals, 23 assists – 61 points
David Mendez (Otay Ranch) 35 goals, 14 assists – 49 points
Devyn Taras (Otay Ranch) 23 goals, 25 assists – 48 points
Alex Pelletier (Rancho Bernardo) 33 goals, 13 assists – 46 points
Jesse Lycan (Scripps Ranch) 27 goals, 19 assists – 46 points
Ryan Wilson (Rancho Bernardo) 28 goals, 17 assists – 45 points
Yves Wagner (Westview) 23 goals, 19 assists – 42 points
Sam Angeles (Cathedral Catholic) 26 goals, 11 assists – 37 points
Andrew Tesner (Hilltop) 23 goals, 13 assists – 36 points
Gilad Barzilai (Westview) 14 goals, 21 assists – 35 points
Josh Morrison (Westview) 25 goals, 9 assists – 34 points
Charlie Leibman (Poway) 19 goals, 15 assists – 34 points
Scott Hord (Westview) 20 goals, 12 assists – 32 points
Bailey Ridout (Rancho Bernardo) 19 goals, 12 assists – 31 points
Danny Godinez (Hilltop) 17 goals, 14 assists – 31 points
Nick Heid (St. Augustine) 21 goals, 9 assists – 30 points
Drew Jones (Cathedral Catholic) 14 goals, 15 assists – 29 points
Shaun Simmons (Scripps Ranch) 13 goals, 16 assists – 29 points
Ricardo Portilla (Otay Ranch) 16 goals, 12 assists – 28 points
Daniil Lukoyanov (Westview) 10 goals, 16 assists – 26 points
Eloy Rodriguez (Mar Vista) 22 goals, 3 assists – 25 points
Matt Gauthier (Scripps Ranch) 12 goals, 13 assists – 25 points
Cade Frederick (West Hills) 20 goals, 4 assists – 24 points
Hector Garcia (Chula Vista) 18 goals, 4 assists – 22 points
David Garcia (Chula Vista) 13 goals, 8 assists – 21 points
Sean Layton (Eastlake) 10 goals, 11 assists – 21 points
