MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - Host St. Francis got goals from four different players and cruised to a 4-0 win over Sequoia in a first-round CCS Division 1 boys soccer match Wednesday afternoon.
The third-seeded Lancers (12-3-6) will take on the winner of the match between No. 6 Leland and No. 11 Andrew Hill taking place Wednesday night at Leland. Sequoia ended its season with a 10-8-3 mark.
St. Francis opened the scoring in the 16th minute just a few minutes after having a goal disallowed for an offside call. The sequence began when an acrobatic overhead shot by senior winger Cory Hill that was saved by the Sequoia goalkeeper, setting up a corner kick from the left side.
Hill then won the header off the ensuing corner kick, hitting the ball off the crossbar and right post. After a scramble in front of goal, senior striker Tycho Halpern powered the ball in through traffic with a left-footed blast to make it 1-0 in the 16th minute.
The Lancers extended the lead to 2-0 just before halftime. Right back Sebastian Mendoza received a nice pass along the right wing and served in a cross that was not dealt with well by a Sequoia defender. Junior Tyler Roey latched onto the ball near the penalty spot and slotted it home.
After the Cherokees opened the second half with a nice flurry, St. Francis scored against the run of play to put the match away. Mendoza played a short corner to junior Demetrios Giannapoulos, who crossed it to the far post where senior center back James Holland rose up to head it in to make it 3-0 in the 52nd minute.
St. Francis took advantage of another poor clearance for its final tally in the 62nd minute. Senior Elias Reckas crossed the ball in from the right side to Hill, who was free near the penalty spot and finished one on one with the keeper to make it 4-0.
