Willow Glen Resident

Sports

Leigh sends boys, girls teams to soccer playoffs

By Kevin Sparrer

Another soccer season has come and gone in the Blossom Valley Athletic League, and now what remains is what every high school athlete in this area is shooting for--the Central Coast Section playoffs.

The Leigh boys wrapped up the regular season with a 1-0 win over Leland. The win completed Leigh's league record at 7-4-3 for third place in the Mt. Hamilton Division and 11-5-4 overall, good for a place in the CCS Division I playoffs.

No. 7 seeded Leigh was to host No. 10 Milpitas (9-6-4) on Feb. 13 in the first round of CCS, and with a win would challenge the winner of the No. 2 Los Gatos (14-2-4)-No. 15 Andrew Hill (11-5-3) winner on Feb. 16 at a time and place to be determined. The CCS Division I boys semifinals (Feb. 19) and finals (Feb. 22) will be played at Milpitas.

Leland's loss dropped the Chargers to 1-7-6 in league, which left them in seventh at the end of the long season. Leland finished with an overall record of 4-10-8.

Lincoln's boys finished their season with a 1-1 tie against Live Oak on Feb. 6 with Rene Garibay scoring the only goal for the Lions with Nestor Mora on the assist.

The tie left Lincoln at 5-5-4 in the Mt. Hamilton Division and 8-5-7 overall.

Lincoln advanced to the CCS Division II playoffs at the No. 11 seed, facing No. 6 Los Altos (10-8-2) on Feb. 13 with hopes of advancing to the quarterfinal round on Feb. 16 to face the winner of No. 14 Burlingame (9-5-5)-No. 3 Pajaro Valley (18-2-2), also at a time and place to be determined. The Division II semifinals (Feb. 19) and finals (Feb. 22) will be played at Milpitas.

Branham finished its season with a 3-2 loss to Overfelt on Feb. 6. Matt Kastner scored a goal and had an assist for Shane Hovorka, who scored the other goal for the Bruins. David Pitzen also added an assist.

Branham finished the Mt. Hamilton season at 5-4-5 and in fifth place in the division. The Bruins, 7-5-7 overall, advance to the Division II playoffs as the No. 10 seed, where they were to face No. 7 Terra Nova (12-5-2) on Feb. 13. If Branham wins the contest, the Bruins will face the winner of No. 15 Gonzales (12-1-3)-No. 2 Santa Cruz (11-5-4) on Feb. 16, with the place and time yet to be determined.

Westmont finished its season on one of its three losses. The Warriors fell to Silver Creek 1-0 on Feb. 8.

Westmont won the West Valley Division of the BVAL with a 9-3-2 record and advanced to the Division II playoffs on Feb. 12 as the No. 16 seed, hosting No. 17 Pacific Grove (9-1-6). A Westmont win would have sent the Warriors up against No. 1 seed South San Francisco (18-1-0) on Feb. 13 at 2:30 p.m. Westmont is so far 9-5-4 overall. That winner will collide with the winner of the No. 8 Palo Alto (12-4-5)-No. 9 Sequoia (8-5-5) first-round game on Feb. 16.

Willow Glen's boys ended their season on a downer with a 2-0 loss to Piedmont Hills on Feb. 6. The loss dropped the Rams to 6-5-3 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL. Willow Glen finished its season in fifth place and will not be advancing to the CCS playoffs with its 7-7-7 overall record.

Girls soccer

Leigh's girls finished their season with one of only four losses all year, falling to Evergreen Valley 2-1 on Feb. 5. Leigh's only goal came from Marissa Dunaway with Stephanie Bloom on the assist.

The loss dropped Leigh to 10-4 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL, but the Longhorns were still able to take first place in the rugged league and have the top seed in Division I of the CCS playoffs. Leigh faced a bye in the first round and will face the winner of the No. 8 Gilroy (11-5-3)-No. 9 Carlmont (11-5-3) game on Feb. 16 with the site and the time still to be determined.

The girls Division I semifinals (Feb. 21) and finals (Feb. 23) will be played at Valley Christian High School in San Jose.

Leland's girls soccer team dominated Santa Teresa 5-1 in its final Mt. Hamilton Division game on Feb. 5, with Cristina Farrington scoring three of the five goals for the Chargers. Kaitlin Anzalone and Jessica Man added a goal apiece, while Olivia Mangin and Sara Chehrehsa each had two assists.

The win completed Leland's league season at 8-4-2, 12-7-2 overall. The Chargers, seeded No. 10 in the CCS Division I playoffs, were to travel to No. 7 Watsonville (15-3-4) on Feb. 13. The winner will square off with No. 2 St. Francis (16-4-4) at a time and place yet to be determined.

Pioneer's girls finished their season with a 1-0 win over Branham on Feb. 5. The Mustangs finished fourth in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL at 8-2-4 and 9-5-5 overall, good for a place in the CCS Division II playoffs.

No. 5 seed Pioneer was to host No. 12 Aptos (12-3-6) in the first round on Feb. 13. The winner will advance to a game on Feb. 16 against the winner of the No. 4 St. Ignatius (11-6-4)-No. 13 Hillsdale (11-5-4) game.

The loss dropped Branham to 2-9-3 in league play and 7-9-3 overall. The Bruins will not be advancing to the CCS playoffs.

Lincoln fell to Live Oak 5-0 in its last game of the season on Feb. 5. The Lions ended 4-8-1 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL and 4-10-1 overall.

Westmont's girls fell in the their final league game, losing 3-2 to Sobrato on Feb. 5.

Prospect tied Willow Glen 1-1 in its final game of the season on Feb. 5, finishing its season at 5-5-3 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL and 6-8-4 overall. The Panthers will not continue on to the CCS playoffs.

Willow Glen battled Prospect to a 1-1. Willow Glen also defeated Live Oak 2-1 on Feb. 7.

The Rams finished their season 10-2-2 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL and 13-4-3 overall. Willow Glen finished third.