The Campbell Reporter
Sports
Competition gets intense with soccer playoffs near
By Kevin Sparrer
Toward the end of the season, competition in any sport tends to get more intense. The local high school soccer teams have been fighting harder than ever recently for the opportunity to take part in the Central Coast Section playoffs, but only a few will go on.
The Branham boys are discovering the intensity of teams with their backs against the wall. The Bruins struggled this past week, falling 1-0 to Mt. Pleasant on Feb. 1 and ending in a 1-1 tie with Leigh on Jan. 30. Matt Kastner scored the only goal for the Bruins against the Longhorns, with Phil Drasny on the assist.
The loss drops Branham to 5-3-5 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League while Leigh climbed to 6-4-3 after also beating Oak Grove 2-0 on Feb. 1.
Leland and Leigh also met in Mt. Hamilton Division play last week, battling to a 3-3 tie on Feb. 1.
Leland tied against Oak Grove 2-2 on Jan. 30, bringing the Chargers to 1-6-6 in the division.
Willow Glen tied Evergreen Valley 0-0 on Feb. 1, taking its record to 6-4-3 in the Santa Teresa Division.
Del Mar had a long week in the West Valley Division. The Dons tied San Jose 2-2 on Feb. 1 with the goals coming from Omar Gutierez and Gustavo Silva; they fell to Independence 1-0 on Jan. 30, and they lost 3-1 to Westmont on Jan. 31, with Jose Roman scoring the only goal for Del Mar with Brian Nissen on the assist.
The tie and losses drops Del Mar to 4-6-4 in league.
Paul Silva scored two goals for Westmont in the win, with Jorge Godenez assisting on one of them. Zanin Mahic scored the other goal with Tyler Colopy on the assist.
Westmont had a good deal of success last week, defeating Santa Teresa 3-0 on Jan. 30 and Prospect 1-0 on Feb. 1.
Scoring the only goal against Prospect was Chris Pantalion with Aharon Huff on the assist. Against Santa Teresa, it was Daniel Molseed who scored two goals with Lucas Moreira assisting on both; Mahic scored the third goal with Godenez assisting.
The wins took Westmont to 9-2-2 and into first place in the West Valley Division.
Prospect took one from Gunderson 3-2 on Jan. 30, moving its record to 4-8-1 in the West Valley Division of the BVAL.
Girls soccer
Just like the boys, the BVAL girls soccer teams are battling for the spots in the CCS playoffs.
Leigh's girls soccer team extended its lead in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL after defeating Piedmont Hills 2-1 on Jan. 31, taking its record to 10-3.
Branham crushed Del Mar 5-2 on Jan. 31 with Michelle Haughey doing a lot of the damage for the Bruins. Haughey scored four goals and Shelby Salvacion, Mia Bradford, Kristen Duquette and Nicole Peck each assisted. Duquette also scored her own goal with Kacey Gricius assisting.
Two days earlier Branham fell to Piedmont Hills 4-1 with Lyndsey Harmon scoring unassisted for the only goal for the Bruins.
Splitting on the week brought Branham to 2-8-3 in the Mt. Hamilton Division.
Del Mar didn't have a great week, falling 3-0 to Santa Teresa on Jan. 29 and then 5-2 to Branham with Maricella Padilla scoring one goal for the Dons and Lauren Pagendarm scoring the second with Brittany Salerno assisting.
The losses left Del Mar 1-9-2 in league.
Pioneer had a strong week, tying Santa Teresa 0-0 on Jan. 31 and defeating Evergreen Valley 5-3 on Jan. 29.
The win and tie brought the Mustangs to 7-2-4 in league, which puts them in fourth place in the Mt. Hamilton Division.
In West Valley Division play, Willow Glen added to its list of wins after downing Westmont 2-0 on Jan. 29. Buree Cowherd scored a goal with Kayla Villapando assisting, and then Villapando scored her own goal with Taylor Lundquist on the assist.
Willow Glen also tied Sobrato 3-3 on Jan. 31. Lundquist scored a goal with Cowherd doing the assisting this time and Villapando scoring two unassisted goals.
The win and the tie brought the Rams to 9-2-1 and third place in the division.
The loss dropped Westmont to 7-9-2 and into fourth place behind Willow Glen.
Prospect had a strong week, winning both its games. The Panthers downed Silver Creek 4-3 on Jan. 31 and also defeated Lincoln 4-2 on Jan. 29. The wins took Prospect to 5-5-2 in the West Valley Division.