Several local scholastic boys soccer teams wound up regular season play recently and moved on to CIF action.
At La Jolla High, the Vikings ended with a record of 12-6-3 for head coach Dan Berthiaume. The Vikings fell to Crawford 1-0 last week in the Division III playoffs.
Berthiaume credited the recent play of Trevor Fox, Yoshi Rothman and Austin Miller.
“Fox made an impact when making the switch from midfield to forward,” Berthiaume said. “Rothman and Miller played great in the last few games of the season, leading the defense to only allow three goals in the last five games.”
Noting the end to the season, Berthiamue added, “It was a disappointing ending to a rollercoaster of a season. It seemed as if the team was peaking as we went into the playoffs but we were simply outplayed by a team in the first round that we blew out 7-1 in the beginning of the season.
“I want to make a big point that our seeding in the playoffs was ridiculous, going in as a 10 seed with a far better record than St. Augustine who was a 4 seed, and we beat them twice during the season and finished better than them in league. The seeding system is garbage and needs to be fixed.”
In Division IV action, both La Jolla Country Day School and The Bishop’s School moved into the next round.
LJCD opened with a 4-0 win over Horizon, with four players each scoring a goal. The win was LJCD’s 20th of the season.
Alex Poyhonen had a big game by contributing a goal and two assists, while Zack Wolfenzon scored his 27th goal of the season. Kyle Reese and Michael Bailey combined on the shutout.
LJCD won its next game, a 5-1 decision over Tri-City Christian. The Torreys got goals from Adam Saven (two), Alex Fleischhacker, Wolfenzon (28th of the season) and Hunter Khaleghi.
Bishop’s (16-2-1) also was a winner, advancing with a 7-0 win over Preuss. Tony Cairo and Ricardo Johnson led the way with a pair of goals apiece.
Bishop’s followed up that victory with a 2-0 win over West Shores, moving the Knights into the next round.
Key players recently have included Will Peck, Zach Ostrup, Tyler Evans, Seth Harrison, Ryan Rubio, Kyle Jeffers and Tim Costello.
“The team has progressed, matured and has become tougher to score on thanks to the fine goaltending of Justin Peabody and solid team defending,” Bishop’s head coach Malcolm Tovey noted. “We have made tremendous strides as the season has progressed. As a young team, a coach could ask for no more.”
Bishop’s and LJCD, co-champions in the Coastal South League, were to meet Wednesday (Feb. 27) in a playoff match-up in Div. IV.