Takeaways from the SoCal College Showcase

The Southern California College Soccer Showcase made its triumphant return to the spotlight, as this year’s iteration earned very high praise. Not just for the teams and talent at the event, of which there was plenty, but also for the way the event was run and for the venue at Chapman University. The teams included the creme de la creme in California as Bellarmine College Prep, Los Angeles Cathedral, Los Angeles Loyola, De La Salle, St. Augustine, Servite, and Orange Lutheran attended the event as well as St. Paul’s, making the trip all the way from Louisiana. Here is a breakdown of how some of the teams fared. <strong>Bellarmine</strong> The Bells had a great showing, coming away undefeated and giving up the fewest goals in the Showcase, allowing just one which came in the final match. BCP started the tournament with a 2-0 win over Loyola, followed by a scoreless draw with Cathedral and then a 1-1 draw with Servite. Keeper Mikey Macias and the entire backline deserve a lot of credit. "We were very grateful to have been invited and loved our boys’ effort," Bellarmine coach Conor Salcido said. "To come away as one of two undefeated teams is amazing. "Huge credit to those who organized and hosted the Showcase," Salcido said. "It was a very solid event with amazing teams from different parts of the country. It was a great turnout of high-level college coaches to give our guys looks." <strong>Kasdan Blattman</strong> stood out for the Bells, playing very well in the midfield, earning a lot of attention from the college coaches in attendance. Blattman was the heartbeat of the BCP squad this week. <strong>Kavi Krishnan</strong> and <strong>Keegan Rhodes</strong> also stood out, scoring the goals against Loyola and earning some attention from the college coaches in attendance as well. [caption id="attachment_37384" align="alignright" width="232"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-37384" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2021/12/Angel-Rico-1-232x300.jpg" alt="" width="232" height="300" /> Angel Rico. <em>Photo: Rick San-Martin</em>[/caption] <strong>Cathedral</strong> The Phantoms bounced back from a disappointing start, a 1-0 loss to Lutheran, and bounced back with a 0-0 draw with Bellarmine. They saved their best performance for last in the primetime slot of the final day and beat St. Paul’s comprehensively 3-0. Senior <strong>Angel Rico</strong> provided a strong offensive presence while senior defenders <strong>Diego Reyes</strong> and <strong>Peter Prieto</strong> were very strong alongside keeper Michael Hernandez. Juniors <strong>Angel Guerra</strong> and <strong>Alexi Bastidas</strong> worked very strongly in the midfield while senior <strong>Nathan Garcia</strong> provided a lot of stability for the Phantoms. <strong>De La Salle</strong> The Spartans started the tournament with a 4-2 loss to St. Augustine, falling to a very uncharacteristic 2-5-0, but bounced back with aplomb. De La Salle beat Loyola 2-1 and then ended things with a 2-0 win over Orange Lutheran to put a nice bow on the week. "This event was one of the best experiences we’ve had in recent memory," De La Salle coach Derricke Brown said. "Everything was professional and we were honored to be included in such a prestigious lineup. Overall it was a great experience for the boys and our program." For Sparty, <strong>Charlie Hogan, Noah Schwenger,</strong> and <strong>Mateo Marchis</strong> stood out. <strong>Loyola</strong> The Cubs came away winless, but you can hardly hold that against them with the quality of the teams at the Showcase. They dropped a 2-0 decision to Bellarmine on the first day, then a close 2-1 loss to De La Salle on Day 2, and then another close 2-1 loss to St. Augustine on the final day. <strong>Juan Carlos Bermudez</strong> stood out at outside back for Loyola, playing well in all three matches and playing every minute of every match. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="6909" first="Adrian" last="Camacho"]</strong> also played well for the Cubs, controlling the midfield and <strong>Beau Steller</strong> scored the goal for Loyola against St. Augustine. <strong>Servite</strong> "I thought it was a great tournament," Servite coach Eddie Soto said. "There were very good teams, very good soccer, a lot of good athleticism and the facilities were first class. It was a great setting." The Friars started out with a 2-1 win over St. Paul’s, then dropped a close 1-0 game to St. Augustine before ending things with a 1-1 draw with Bellarmine. "The first day the play was great, the kids looked sharp," Soto said. "It was the first time we played games on consecutive days so the play wasn’t as sharp on days two and three. "I told the team when we left it was a great tournament to participate in. We get to see some teams we don’t normally see. I was impressed. It was a great test. We got to see some of our weaknesses and what we need to work on." <strong>St. Augustine</strong> The Halos had the best week of the entire lot, going 3-0 and doing so against top competition. They started with a 4-2 win over De La Salle, getting a great goal off a dangerous run into the box by <strong>Neil Karpal</strong> who put a perfectly weighted pass from <strong>Alonso Somohano</strong> pass the keeper. <strong>Andres Brambila</strong> headed home an in-swinging delivery on a set piece from [player_tooltip player_id="7711" first="Iain" last="Wagner"] for a goal, while <strong>Dominic Gross</strong> slotted home two goals on assists from Wagner and Brambila. The second day was a tough, hard-fought 1-0 win over a very talented Servite side where a strong, organized defensive effort led to the clean sheet and senior captain <strong>Santiago Gallego</strong> scored the game-winner. The final day was a 2-1 win over Loyola where a great individual run and effort by Brambila led to an early goal. The game-winner came on a strong run by <strong>Jake Torregaini</strong> into the box and a well-played ball to Tanner Wick who finished it from 12 yards out in the 68th minute. St. Augustine’s center backs <strong>Alejandro Ahuage</strong> and <strong>Michael Patterson</strong> played well all week while Gallego was a leader and played strong in the midfield. Keeper <strong>Cameron Brown</strong> was strong all week, especially in keeping a clean sheet against Servite.