CHULA VISTA – Point Loma forced overtime late in regulation before winning in penalty kicks to upset No. 1 Calexico in the CIF-San Diego Section Division 1 championships at Bonita Vista High School.
Point Loma’s Fin Rohnow provided the game-winning kick, sailing past Bulldogs goalkeeper Ricardo Gutierrez to give the Pointers their second Division 1 section title in three years. Point Loma won the shootout 5-3 after the teams played to a 1-1 tie.
“It feels awesome,” Pointers coach Elliot Savitz said. “At the midpoint of the year, it didn’t seem like this was even close to possible.
“The boys got a lot of heart and determination.”
Point Loma’s Ezekiel Varela, who scored the team’s third straight penalty kick, was actually the difference-maker in regulation.
Calexico (18-9-8) was less than two minutes away from winning when a Point Loma (8-8-4) throw-in found Varela, who headed it into the net to tie things at one and give the Pointers life.
“That’s crazy. I still don’t believe it,” Rohnow said. “Eze, I love that kid. He’s a great player. He won us the game.”
Calexico opened scoring with a 46th-minute goal by senior Gael Melendez.
— BREVEN HONDA
Division 2
Pacific Ridge 0, Helix 0 (Pacific Ridge wins on penalty kicks, 5-4): Lasse Bartsch-Erforth made quite the impression for his debut in soccer’s stressful tiebreaker.
The junior goalkeeper for Pacific Ridge High School stopped three Helix penalty kicks Saturday as the Firebirds prevailed in the shootout, 5-4, in the CIF Division 2 boys soccer final at Orange Glen High School.
After 80 minutes of regulation play and an additional 15 minutes of overtime failed to produce a goal, Pacific Ridge proved superior in the shootout which extended the Firebirds’ current win streak to 15 matches going into next week’s Southern California Regionals.
“I’ve been playing soccer for 10 years, and this was my first shootout,” itted Bartsch-Erforth. “I guessed right on the first two and they went in, so I figured if I continued to guess right, I’ll stop one eventually.
“Basically, they’re supposed to score, so there’s really no pressure on me. It was all about getting in their heads, and the reward was worth it. We’re not done, yet.”
Pacific Ridge’s Daniel Merlin, Max Pulvers and Nick Axelson all found the back of the net. For Helix, Adrian Hernandez and Kristian Cron converted the Highlanders’ first two attempts, but the third try was blocked by Bartsch-Erforth.
Helix goalie Tyson Ryan blocked the Firebirds’ next two attempts, but Bartsch-Erforth made another block with help from the left post as the Coastal League champions maintained a 3-2 edge.
Jojo Garduno and Damian Moran converted their kicks to keep the Helix hopes alive, but Darian Nasirpour and Ben Jackson each succeeded on their shots for the Firebirds.
When Bartsch-Erforth denied the final attempt for Helix on the 14th kick of the shootout, Pacific Ridge secured its third section crown to go with two Division 5 championships in 2012 and 2013.
“It’s all about heart,” said Firebirds coach Brian Buchholtz, whose squad improved to 20-2-3 on the season. “This team all season long has stepped up for each other.”
The Highlanders finished their season at 12-5-5 under coach Joaquin Huertero.
— RICK HOFF
Girls soccer
Division 1
Patrick Henry 2, Mt. Carmel 1: The Patriots scored twice in a six-minute span prior to halftime to secure their second section title in three years.
“I’m really excited,” said Patriots junior Breanna Ivie, whose goal in the 35th minute turned out to be the decider. “This is my second time winning a CIF championship with this team at the school, and I’m just really happy.”
Ivie got loose in the box and took one touch before finding the back of the net to give Patrick Henry (14-8-2) its first lead.
In the 29th minute, Patriots senior Emma Cummingham got down by the baseline before crossing it to fellow senior Kathryn Makhov to tie the game at one against the Sundevils (12-11-3).
“We always talk about practicing and it’s always the little things,” Patrick Henry head coach Jason Renfro said. “This team is offensively amazing.”
It brought flashbacks to when Patrick Henry took down Francis Parker despite also allowing an early goal.
“Two years ago on the same field, Francis Parker scored in the first minute, and we ended up beating them the same way, on the same field,” Renfro said. “So, it was almost like it was meant to be that way.”
Following Mt. Carmel’s early goal, Patrick Henry had to stand tall defensively.
“I’m the kind of person to hype the team up and bring the energy up,” Ivie said after the Mt. Carmel goal. “So, I kind of snapped back. I was like, ‘Come on, guys. This is not us.’
“I think that really brought the team up a little bit for the energy and the bench as well.”
— BREVEN HONDA
Division 2
La Costa Canyon 1, San Dieguito Academy 1 (LCC wins on penalty kicks, 5-4): Senior Kate Hnatek netted the fifth and clinching penalty kick for the Mavericks. Also converting penalty kicks for the Mavs were Devan Carman, Aleksah Castillo, McKay Grisek and Caelan Kenney.
Junior forward Mia Pullman deflected a shot by teammate Taylor Whiting into the net for a first-half goal, leading San Dieguito to a 1-0 lead.
Thaleia Tsintikidou sent a to Whiting along the left side, and her shot toward the goal was knocked in from close range by Pullman as the ball eluded La Costa Canyon goalkeeper Paloma Platus in the 23rd minute.
La Costa Canyon had no shots on goal in the first half, but the Mavericks wasted little time tying the score in the second half as sophomore defender Kaia Cullum headed in the equalizer eight minutes into the half.
It was the first time No. 2 seed San Dieguito Academy had been scored on in three playoff matches, including a 1-0 overtime victory over No. 6 Rancho Bernardo.
Neither team could penetrate the other’s defense for the remainder of regulation or the 15-minute overtime. The closest to a score came with less than two minutes remaining in OT when Platus gathered in a long free kick by the Mustangs.
— RICK HOFF
