It took three tries but the Sweetwater High School girls soccer team finally managed to defeat west side rival Castle Park.
The teams met twice in the recent Barons Cup tournament, playing to a scoreless tie in a preliminary-round game before advancing to meet each other in the division championship game.
Castle Park won the rematch by a score of 1-0 on a goal by Sasha Rodriguez in the final minute of play.
The teams met for a third time this month Thursday night at Castle Park High School in the South Bay League opener for both teams. The visiting Red Devils netted a 1-0 victory on a second-half goal by Lesli Nunez.
In this case, Sweetwater may have come up empty in the initial two meetings this year but finally came through in the one that counted the most.
Thursday’s win, which came in a thick fog, upped the Red Devils season record to 7-2-3 overall, 1-0 in league.
“We’re doing well so far,” SuHi head coach Jaime Romero explained. “I’m excited with this young group.”
Both teams took turns controlling play throughout various junctures of the game.
The lone goal came with about 18 minutes to play in regulation as Elsa Sarabia took a corner kick that Nunez was able to convert into a goal.
The shutout was SuHi goalkeeper Ella Surporsa’s ninth of the season.
Sweetwater took 10 shots in the game; Surporsa was credited with six saves.
She batted a dangerous ball off the goal line in the final seven minutes of the match.
Castle Park saw its overall record dip to 4-6-1, 0-1 in league play.
“Their team (Sweetwater) has gotten a lot better, it’s not an easy game against them any more,” conceded Trojan coach Victor Vargas. “Both teams had chances. They scored on their chance and we didn’t score on ours.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries. We were down to two subs at the end of the game. I think that contributed to the result. But the girls who were asked to step up did a good job.”
Sweetwater hosts Montgomery in a non-league make-up game on Saturday (Dec. 22). Kick-off is 4:30 p.m.
Castle Park will next play Olympian Dec. 26 at 5:15 p.m. at Eastlake High School as part of the Quin Murphy/San Diego County Cup hosted by Hilltop High School.
Corner kicks
Following the Barons Cup, both Sweetwater and Castle Park competed in the Lady Vaqueros Tournament hosted by El Capitan High School.
Sweetwater finished third in the Bronze bracket with a 1-1-1 record. The Red Devils kicked off tourney play with a 4-0 win over Lincoln, tied Imperial 0-0 and then lost 2-0 to Brawley.
Sweetwater topped Madison, 5-0, in a non-league game on Monday. The Red Devils received goals from five players: Surya Mecino, Marisol Guerrero, Adilene Nunez, Jazmine Martinez and Sarabia.
Castle Park finished 1-2 in its three games at the Vaquero tourney, defeating Southwest El Centro by a score of 4-1 while coming up short in match-ups against Mar Vista (2-1) and San Diego (6-1).
“San Diego has a fine team; they were the best team we faced in the tournament,” Vargas said.
Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
Metro Conference
Girls Soccer Standings
South Bay League
Hilltop 1-0, 3-2-4
San Ysidro 1-0, 5-8-0
Sweetwater 1-0, 7-2-3
Mater Dei Catholic 0-1, 2-3-0
Castle Park 0-1, 4-6-1
Southwest 0-1, 0-5-1
Thursday, Dec. 20
San Ysidro 1, Southwest 0
Sweetwater 1, Castle Park 0
Hilltop 2, Mater Dei Catholic 0
Mesa League
Montgomery 2-0, 4-3-0
Eastlake 2-0, 3-2-3
Olympian 1-0-1, 2-4-3
Bonita Vista 2-1, 4-3-0
Chula Vista 1-1-1, 4-7-4
Otay Ranch 0-3, 2-4-1
Mar Vista 0-3, 5-6-0
Thursday, Dec. 13
Eastlake 2, Otay Ranch 0
Chula Vista 4, Mar Vista 3
Bonita Vista 3, Olympian 0
Tuesday, Dec. 18
Eastlake 5, Chula Vista 2
Bonita Vista 2, Mar Vista 0
Montgomery 3, Otay Ranch 1
Thursday, Dec. 20
Chula Vista 1, Olympian 1
Bonita Vista 3, Otay Ranch 0
BOYS SOCCER:
Lancers out-kick Crusaders in 4-1 league opening win
Hilltop improved to 11-3 overall after defeating visiting Mater Dei Catholic, 1-0, in Thursday’s South Bay League opener.
Javier Jimenez scored two goals to lead the Lancers, who also received goals from Gabe Ruiz and Javier Pirela. Kurt Pena recorded three assists; Oscar Piceno also was credited with one assist in the game.
Erik Acosta made seven saves on eight shots to record the goalkeeper win.
Mater Dei Catholic saw its record drop to 0-1 in league play, 2-5-2 overall.
Hilltop, currently ranked No. 1 among the San Diego Section’s Division IV schools by MaxPreps, next plays Ramona in the Grossmont Tournament final on Saturday, Dec. 22. Kick-off is 1 p.m.
The Lancers kick off San Diego County Cup play Dec. 26 with matches against High Tech High Chula Vista and Lincoln. Tournament play runs through Dec. 29.
Metro Conference Scoreboard
Mesa League
Thursday, Dec. 13
Eastlake 4, Otay Ranch 1
San Ysidro 2, Castle Park 0
Bonita Vista 2, Southwest 1
Tuesday, Dec. 18
Bonita Vista 3, Castle Park 2
Eastlake 3, San Yisdro 0
Otay Ranch 3, Montgomery 0
Thursday, Dec. 20
San Ysidro 2, Southwest 1
South Bay League
Thursday, Dec. 20
Sweetwater 4, Mar Vista 2
Hilltop 4, Mater Dei Catholic 1
