Southern Section First Round Standouts

The Southern Section of California got its playoffs started on Wednesday, with some of the top boys teams in the state playing their first-round game. Here are the results from the Open Division and Division I, and some players who stood out.   OPEN DIVISION (Leg One of Two)   Mira Costa 1, Aliso Niguel 0   [player_tooltip player_id='7583' first='Evan' last='Hansen'] had several key saves to keep the match scoreless as Mira Costa took about 20 minutes to find its form. [player_tooltip player_id='8204' first='Marco' last='Bottene'] was dangerous all over the pitch while Sean Gauer was creating chances regularly from his right outside back position. Biff Norrie came on as a sub and was a calming influence in the middle of the pitch.   Bottene scored the goal on a header for Mira Costa after a great ball in from Grant Gilmer.   Montclair 2, Mater Dei 1   Diego Chavarria scored for Mater Dei, who go into the second leg down a goal, but at home. Mater Dei coach Sean Gainey praised the quality of the Montclair side, but said "We absolutely feel good (going into the second leg). I will always believe in this group."   JSerra Catholic 1, San Clemente 0   In a very physical game, the Lions persevered, sticking to their style of play. Kaden Kirsch and Alex Blair were exceptional in defense as they locked down a very good San Clemente attack. [player_tooltip player_id='8665' first='Shayne' last='Daly'] was great in the midfield, winning balls and delivering passes to the forwards. [player_tooltip player_id='33306' first='Gavin' last='Allegaert'] was the big weapon up top along with Marcus Ozmai, who scored the lone goal.   Arlington 4, Godinez 0   Salvador Carrillo was the man of the match for Arlington, scoring a hat trick. He was a constant threat to Godinez on counter attacks and in and around the box, finishing well with his left foot. Captain and No. 10 Jacob Arellano keeps pushing for the school record in assists, collecting two more and giving him 23 on the year. He pulled the strings for the Lions and was excellent in transition. Tyler Hylton, a captain, was great in his No. 6 role, limiting a dangerous Steven Sorto on the ball and was constantly breaking up Godinez's build up. He helped the Lions secure their 19th clean sheet, a school record.   Sorto was a constant threat for Godinez, a player that Arlington had to watch closely as he is very good with the dribble. Diego Mejia was also a standout, showing quality ability on the dribble and pace in getting behind.   DIVISION I   Orange Lutheran 3, Sunny Hills 1   The defending Division IV champs find themselves in the DI bracket, and started out very well as senior center backs Alex Vasquez and Mateo Ambriz were rocks in the back. They kept the Sunny Hills attack quiet. Senior midfielder Xavier Alcantar had two assists while junior striker AJ Campbell had two goals. Both were relentless in their pursuit of recovering the ball and kept pressure on the defense. Isaac Morales was the most dangerous player for Sunny Hills.   Oak Park 5, Littlerock 0   [player_tooltip player_id='33278' first='Tamir' last='Ratoviz'] is a special player as the powerful, speedy and technical UCLA commit scored three goals and had an assist. Charles Chowana added a goal, giving him three seasons in a row with 10+ while Evan Ziglari had a goal. Ratoviz, Ziglari, who is an excellent No. 6 who connects play, and Artun Vance were all named man of the match. Vance maintained composure after some miscommunication with the defense in the early going and helped maintain a clean sheet.   Harvard-Westlake 4, San Marcos 1   It was a comprehensive win for the Wolverines (16-4-1) who had four goals from four different players. Micah Rossen scored the first goal of the match, then Spencer Casimassima broke a 1-1 deadlock with a goal just before the halftime whistle. Josh Barnavon scored the third early in the second half, then [player_tooltip player_id='7820' first='JT' last='Federman'] scored the fourth. Federman, a center back, is someone with a strong understanding of the game, knows when to push up and get involved from his central defense spot.   Servite 2, Valley View 1   Forward Justin Cuevas got moved to center back, but still found a way to score and junior forward Esteban Arbarca came up with a big assist. Freshman Aidan Partida plays his first varsity minutes and did very well as Servite was in control of this match from the start, and only gave up a late goal, with the Friars using their depth to dominate.   Cathedral 2, Claremont 0   Senior keeper David Garcia had three point-blank saves to keep a clean sheet and lead Cathedral to the win. Phantom center backs Eddie De Leon and Jonathan Gutierrez, both seniors, shut Claremont down. Junior No. 6 [player_tooltip player_id='170678' first='Ivan' last='Henriquez'] was very smart in his work in the midfield, breaking down the Claremont attacking midfield. Esau Sullivan was a threat for the Phantoms as the forward also scored a goal.   Crossroads 3, M.L. King 1   [player_tooltip player_id='162038' first='Maximo' last='Cisneros'] scored the first goal on a terrific left-footed volley with Will Nicholas scoring the second and [player_tooltip player_id='165346' first='Donovan' last='Mark'] scoring the third. Cisneros was very solid at the No. 6 spot, controlling the game both offensively and defensively. Nicholas was out wide as the No. 11 and was dangerous going at players while Mark, the playmaking No. 10, was dangerous on the ball and allowed Crossroads to control the pace.   Hart 1, Carter 0   Alta Loma 2, Santa Ana Valley 1   Cajon 4, Poly-Long Beach 2   Palos Verdes 2, Los Alamitos 1   Canyon 3, Crescenta Valley 0   Valencia-Placentia 3, Hesperia 2   South Torrance 2, San Juan Hills 1   Edison 3, Sierra Vista 0   Millikan 5, El Dorado 1   Citrus Hill 4, Cabrillo-Long Beach 1

The Southern Section of California got its playoffs started on Wednesday, with some of the top boys teams in the state playing their first-round game. Here are the results from the Open Division and Division I, and some players who stood out.