AV Sports - High School Boys Soccer

Playing against a brisk, steady wind at Pete Knight High in the first half, the Falcons fought Mater Dei to a draw for the first 20 minutes. But it fell all fell apart before halftime, as the Monarchs tallied 4 goals before the break. The first goal was a nice shot from about 30 yards out that snuck in just below the cross bar. The second goal was a free kick that trickled off the keeper's hands. A throw-in was headed in for the third goal, and a fourth goal came just before the break. Palmdale mustered a few challenges, but genearlly had trouble developing a consistent attack all day. The Monarchs added a final score in the closing minutes.

Aliso Niguel won the pre-game coin toss and elected to play with the wind at their backs. The strategy appeared to be working as Quartz Hill had difficulty moving the ball out of their defensive third and the visiting Wolverines had several set play opportunities in the first 15 minutes. However, the Rebels finally countered in the 23rd minute as Chris Smith found favorite target Eric Wageman who buried the ball in the back of the net to provide all the offense the Rebels would need to advance to the CIF-SS Division I quarterfinals. The Rebels used a strong tailwind in the second half to control the game and add two insurance goals by Christian Gonzalez (from Facundo Gomez) and Chris Smith on a direct kick. The Rebels defense earned their 15th shutout of the season as the team improved to 21-2-4 on the year. Quartz Hill will host defending CIF-SS DI champs and current #1 seed Santa Margarita on Thursday.

In a battle between the top two defensive teams in CIF Southern Section Division I, it was fitting that a defender scored the only goal of the game. Roger Downes, Rancho Santa Margarita's sweeper and CIF Player of the Year candidate, shut down the potent Quartz Hill attack and capped it off with a perfectly placed header in the 60th minute off an Alex Rodriguez (not the Yankee SS) throw-in to send the Eagles to their fourth straight semi-final appearance. It was a cat and mouse game with both teams failing to capitalize on the opportunities that were few and far between. It looked like the Eagles would strike first when an attacker got behind the Rebels defense but hit the right post with his shot. Then Eric Wageman got behind the Eagles defense with just the keeper to beat and chipped the ball over the goal. Those would prove to be the only dangerous shots on goal until Santa Margarita's 6' 4" keeper, Billy Thompson, made what proved to be the save of the day. With the score still deadlocked at 0-0 in the second half, Wageman found himself open inside the 18 and sent a rocket towards the back post. Thompson dove to his right with his arm fully extended and deflected the ball away for a corner kick. That was the turning point of the game as an apparent 1-0 lead for the Rebels quickly turned into a 1-0 lead for the Eagles. The Rebels attacked with three forwards and moved sweeper Garrett Barker to midfield to try to net the equalizer but the Santa Margarita defense held for the final 20 minutes to move on to familiar territory in the semis. The Rebels finish the season with their best playoff run in four years and their best record in six years at 23-3-2.

A game-tying goal and a winning assist earned Rolondo Palma of Knight High the MVP award as the South rallied for a 3-2 win over the North.

Rosamond's Edgar Lomelli gave the North an early 1-0 lead, with an assist going to Zane Bryant of Quartz Hill. Palmdale's Tyler Coombes got the South even in the opening minutes of the 2nd half, but the Rebels Facundo Gomez put the South back ahead 2-1. After Lomelli tied it up, Highland's David Salguero got the game winner on Lomelli's assist.

Keeper Brett Lloyd earned the MVP award for the North.

Palmdale High School Summer Futsal League will be starting June 18, 2008. This league is for high school soccer teams in the valley. The boys will play on Monday evenings and the girls will play on Tuesday evenings at Palmdale High School. If you have any questions or would like to put in a team please contact Coach Jarrod Cline at jcline@avhsd.org.