Willow Glen Resident

Sports

Longhorns reach soccer semifinals before losing

By Kevin Sparrer

Even seasons that seem to be going perfectly can eventually come to an end.

Only one team in each division of the Central Coast Section soccer playoffs can end its season with a win, and this year the Leigh boys came close.

The Longhorns' season came to an end when they fell 3-1 to Overfelt on Feb. 19 in the semifinal round of the CCS Division I playoffs. The loss ended Leigh's season at 13-6-4 overall.

Scoring the only goal for Leigh against the Royals was Colby Roberts, with Daniel Fowler on the assist.

The loss to Overfelt came after a Leigh upset over No. 2 seed Los Gatos in a shootout at Milpitas on Feb. 16.

The Longhorns had already faced both Overfelt and Los Gatos earlier in the year. In fact, the CCS contest was the third time Leigh had met the Royals on the field. The first time they played on Dec. 12, Leigh took the win 2-0 while the Royals took the second game 1-0 on Jan. 18.

The Longhorns played their first game of the year against the Wildcats on Nov. 19 with the game ending in a 0-0 tie.

Leigh also eliminated Milpitas 1-0 in double overtime on Feb. 13 in the first round of the tournament.

During the regular season, Leigh finished 7-4-3 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, which was good enough for third place. That third-place finish won Leigh its first trip to the CCS finals since 2005.

The members of the Leigh soccer team this fall included seniors Jason Dar, Nathan Jackson, Ben Campbell, Matt Ross, Eric Stanton and Walter Santillan; juniors Cordell Lundberg, Ryan Pardula, Ethan Cosgrove, Taylor Hoch, Shaun Kaefer, Nick Marozick, Niklas Wedekind, Roberts, Bryce Nelson, Erik Piedad, Keith Volden and Fowler; sophomore Steven Shiokari; and freshmen Trevor Pardula, Mark Salcedo and Thomas Murdick.