One local boys soccer unit is one game away from a CIF Southern Section Division tournament crown, while another has eyes set on the regional bracket.
On Friday, the Saint Monica Mariners boys soccer squad will be facing off with Chadwick for the CIF-SS Division 8 championship, a title game berth earned by going through four worthy opponents.
After beating Calvary Chapel 2-1 and beating Vasquez 2-0 off a big performance from junior Alex Jurado, the Mariners were faced off in an intracity matchup with New Roads. The fight for a final four berth became a runaway by the Mariners, with sophomore Giovanni Sotomayor knocking in two goals on the day.
Juniors Ben Elmaleh and Jack Milligan also scored against New Roads, sending the squad into the semifinals against Magnolia Science Academy. There, the Mariners shut out an opponent for the 14th time this season, winning 2-0 off of two goals from sophomore Matthew Martinez.
After a crushing 6-0 loss to Windward on December 19, the Mariners have embarked on a remarkable 14-game win streak, only letting three opponents score during that timeframe. The goaltending duo of sophomore Evan Fores and freshman Christian Zamora have allowed only three goals in total since the calendar flipped to 2025; helped out by the balanced offensive attack. A total of 15 players have recorded at least one St. Monica goal this season, according to MaxPreps.
Now 14-3-2 on the year, the Mariners will face Palos Verdes Peninsula’s Chadwick Dolphins (11-5-3), another team which has shown strong defensive effort down the stretch. The Dolphins have outscored opponents 7-0 in the last three playoff contests, including a 2-0 semifinals win over Desert Christian.
The Samohi Vikings boys soccer squad was knocked out of CIF-SS contention in the Open bracket this past Saturday, dropping a double overtime heartbreaker to JSerra Catholic, 3-2. However, due to the Vikings’ semifinal victory over Crossroads on Feb. 15, the team has earned an automatic spot in the CIF State Regional tournament quarterfinals.
Now at 22-3-2 on the year, the Vikings are about to play its final minutes with its talented senior class. Graduating after this year are offensive leaders Miguel Cano, Leon Ivanov, Gabriel Sherman and Felipe Martini.
With soccer still in the mix for postseason glory, Samohi eyes also turned to spring sports that kicked off last week. A highly anticipated season of Vikings baseball began with a 2-1 stretch, dropping the opener against South Torrance before rebounding for shutout wins over Highland and Windward.
After dropping the South opener 6-5, the home opening 4-0 win over Highland featured a sparkling 6-inning shutout by senior Gavin Kirtley, who only gave up one hit while striking out 13 batters. Junior Kaveh Naini helped Kirtley out on the plate with a huge triple for the Vikings, while sophomore Johnny Recendez knocked in two runs.
Naini took the mound against Windward in a 7-0 victory, anchored by an offensive barrage by senior Isaac Liberman. The Cal State Monterey Bay recruit went 3-3 on the day with four runs, a double, a walk and a run batted in. Fellow college recruit Blue Hunter (Rollins College) added in a run and RBI for the Vikings.
Mariners baseball also returned last week, with the squad losing its first two games at home to Oakwood (6-5 in eight innings) and Crossroads (8-5) before coming up with a big road victory over de Toledo.
The 13-3 win for the Mariners was sparked by Nick Berwin, going 2-3 with 3 runs, 3 RBI, a double, a walk and a hit by pitch. Luke Drucker and David Dyaz added in a duo of RBIs apiece, while Liam Bernheimer had a quality start of one hit and no runs over 3.1 innings.
Both Lady Vikings and Lady Mariners softball are now into 2025 action as well, with the Lady Vikings opening February 19 with a 5-3 home loss against Palos Verdes. The Lady Mariners have yet to score a win, either, losing to Harvard-Westlake 13-3 and Saint Joseph 17-5 to start the softball campaign.
thomas@smdp.com
