The Campbell Reporter
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.
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 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.
Prospect finished its tough season on a high note, defeating Independence 1-0 on Feb. 6. The Panthers finished 5-8-1 in the West Valley Division of the BVAL and 5-10-2 overall.
Del Mar was also able to end its season with a win, beating Santa Teresa 2-0 on Feb. 6. Gustavo Silva knocked in a goal with Boubacar Diallo on the assist, and Brian Nissen scored the other with Jesus Munoz assisting.
The win left Del Mar at 5-6-4 in the West Valley Division of the BVAL and 5-7-5 overall, which was not enough to advance Del Mar into the CCS playoffs.
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.
A 2-1 loss to Pioneer dropped Branham to 2-9-3 in league play and 7-9-3 overall. The Bruins will not be advancing to the CCS playoffs.
Del Mar downed Piedmont Hills 4-3 in its last game of the season on Feb. 5. Maricella Padilla scored two goals for the Dons with Hayley Norman on the assist. Rachel Schauer added a goal with Liz Bergschneider assisting. Brittany Salerno also scored a goal with Demi Nguyen on the assist.
The league win was only one of two all season for the Dons, who finished 2-10-2 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL and 6-10-2 overall.
Westmont's girls fell in the their final league game, losing 3-2 to Sobrato on Feb. 5. Nicole Bayley and Doreen Stern scored the goals for the Warriors in the loss and Rachel Publicover had two assists.
The loss dropped the Warriors to 6-6-2 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL and to 7-10-2 overall.
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.