Prep2Prep CCS Boys Soccer Playoff Brackets
FINAL UPDATE 3/14/2014
How you reacted to the conclusion of the 2014 Central Coast Section boys soccer tournament probably has a lot to do with how you feel about the
concept of co-champions. Heading into Saturday's final round, six teams traveled to Westmont High School in Campbell in search of a section
championship. By the end of a very long day of soccer, only Burlingame was denied the right to call itself a champion.
For printable bracket of CCS playoffs, please click
here (PDF).
DIVISION I:
Fortunately for Watsonville, the Wildcatz had the co-championship to fall back on because a loss on Saturday would have gone down as one of the
most gut-wrenching in the history of the CCS playoffs. It was difficult enough that Watsonville conceded the tying goal by Brian Mulcahy with just
seconds left in regulation, but even more so considering the Wildcatz contended that their goalkeeper, Jose Castenada, was fouled on the decisive play. For
Castenada, there was not much to dispute.
"I came out and I didn't see a player in the back of me and I tripped on him and then I got smashed by one and I thought the ref was going
to mark a foul because he was in my area, but I guess not," Castenada told Prep2Prep's John Murphy. "I punched it out but unfortunately
there was a player right there and he just poked it in."
Watsonville not only had to deal with the loss of its 1-0 lead, it had to contend with Bellarmine for 20 minutes of overtime with just nine players.
Following the goal, the Wildcatz were hit with their second red card - the first came early in the second half with Watsonville leading 1-0. Not only
that Castenada suffered a shoulder injury on the play and had to leave the game.
At even strength, the Wildcatz had the better of the play, and took advantage on a 36th minute goal by Carlos Romo, who was later ejected when he got
into a confrontation with Mulcahy. Whatever you think of penalty kicks deciding a championship, the emotions would have been off the charts in this
particular instance, especially for a Watsonville team that left the field feeling wronged.
For printable bracket of CCS playoffs, please click
here (PDF).
DIVISION II:
The crazy day of soccer at Westmont High got started with a wild one between Serra and Gilroy, the first of consecutive finals pitting a team
from the West Catholic Athletic League (Serra) with one from the Monterey Bay League-Gabilan (Gilroy). Gilroy controlled much of the action
for the first two-thirds of the match behind outstanding midfield play anchored by junior Andres Jimenez, senior Luis Urias, senior
Carlos Jimenez and senior Emmanuel Cruz.
The Mustangs employed a diamond midfield that gave Serra's 4-3-3 trouble in the center of the field. Both teams created chances early on, but
Serra goalkeeper Logan Wolf made several big stops to keep the game scoreless heading into the second half.
Oddly enough after all the brilliant possession, Gilroy scored on a very direct play off a free kick from its own half. The ball was flicked
near the top of the box by Andres Jimenez and Cruz finished with a lofted shot over the reach of Wolf to make it 1-0 in the 55th minute.
From that point, the Mustangs lost their territorial dominance and settled into a defensive shell as Serra became more and more dangerous. Senior
Gerald Ingemansson nearly broke the ice in the final minutes when his first-time effort hit side netting, but senior Nick Schnabel, one of the top
players in all of CCS, made sure the Padres did not leave empty-handed.
Schnabel, who set the single-season WCAL goal-scoring record this year, took a pass from senior Patrick Philpott about 40 yards from goal, bulled his
way past several defenders, and let fly with a left-footed rocket that was sprinkled with Padres magic dust right into the upper left corner to make
it 1-1. While the goal elated the Serra supporters, Gilroy coach Armando Padilla, just minutes away from a second outright CCS title at Gilroy, was
left disappointed.
"We just had to put a body on the poor guy," said Padilla, shaking his head. "He dribbles from about 40 in and dribbles through about four or five
guys and nobody put a foot on the ball or put a body on him. That was pretty unfortunate."
The "poor guy" hit the jackpot yet again just minutes later at the onset of overtime, taking a long pass in the left corner, shaking two defenders and
slotting home an apparent match-winner three minutes into the first of two 10-minute overtime periods.
That seemed to awaken the Gilroy midfield for one final go-round, as the Mustangs immediately regained the extraordinary form they showed early in the
match. The tying goal came off a patient build-up that was finished by Andres Jimenez on a shot that took a fortunate deflection just out of the reach
of Wolf.
If the second overtime was any indication, both teams appeared content - or simply too exhausted to act otherwise - to accept the co-championship.
For printable bracket of CCS playoffs, please click
here (PDF).
DIVISION III:
The high-flying Cougars scored a whopping 12 goals in three playoff matches - none bigger than Jonathan Rico's overtime strike to save the CCS
from three unsatisfying results in a 3-2 victory over Peninsula Athletic League-Bay rival Burlingame.
Zack Penner was the clear star of the Division III
tournament, as he not only assisted on the title-clinching goal but poured in four goals in the 5-2 semifinal win over Aptos and a goal and two assists
in a 4-1 quarterfinal win over James Lick. It was the first CCS title in school history for Half Moon Bay.
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