 | | | Preston Kilwien recorded in an assist against Las Lomas. Photos Gint Federas | | | | | | Division II high school soccer concludes this Saturday at the NCS championship match. The only Lamorinda boys' team still alive in the bracket, No. 2 Campolindo, is on track to the finals. They face No. 3 Dublin in tonight's semifinal, 7 p.m. at Campo. Acalanes also qualified for NCS as the No. 13 seed. They fell in the first round to Hercules.
After a disappointing second place finish last year, this year's league champion, Campo, has their eyes on the prize. "I'd be lying if I said our goal wasn't to win it all," admitted head coach Shane Carney. "We believe we have a good shot at it if we're able to finish our chances and minimize mistakes in our defensive third of the field," he said.
Campo's journey to the semis has been decisive. Although both games have had just a two goal differential, the Cougars dominated the play. On Feb. 19, Campo shut out No. 15 Las Lomas, 2-0.
While the match was competitive, most of the action was at Campo's goal. After more than 10 minutes of anxious play, junior Preston Kilwien drilled a big kick from the midfield straight at goal. Senior co-captain Gus Keeble got his head on it to find the top left of the net.
With eight minutes left in the first half junior Michael Samaniego fired off a huge shot from the midfield. Hard, low, and fast, it penetrated the crowd around the goal and found the back of the net. The second half remained scoreless and Campo won, 2-0.
Carney considered Las Lomas a tough first-round opponent and acknowledged that the Cougars were not at peak performance. "We didn't play our best game, but we put the effort in to earn a shutout and took care of some of our chances on goal," he said.
On Feb. 23, Campo faced No. 7 Bishop O'Dowd. Historically strong, O'Dowd came out fighting and defending well. However, Campo utilized their strengths to bypass the O'Dowd defense. All three Campo goals were scored with headers. At 13 minutes junior Ryan Donat scored the first of his two goals.
Two minutes into the second half, senior co-captain Will Simmons whipped one of his running throw-ins to reach the front of the goal where Donat was waiting to net his second goal. Two minutes later senior Zach Taylor headed Campo's third and final goal off another Simmons' throw-in. O'Dowd scored their one and only goal in the last 10 minutes, ending the game, 3-1.
If the bracket plays out according to the top seeding, the finals would be an intense showdown between Campo and No. 1 Ygnacio Valley. Last year the two teams faced off in an extremely physical semifinal match in which Campo came out on top. The Cougars had been down by two goals until the last four minutes when they scored twice to tie and then won it in sudden death overtime.
"I think it'd be fair and exciting for the two of us to meet up in the final if we can both progress through the other stages of NCS," Carney said. "Our game last year in the semifinals against YV was probably the most exciting game I've ever been a part of," he added.
To get the finals though, Campo needs to first make it past No. 3 Dublin tonight. Having won one and tied one during the regular season, Campo will have their work cut out for them.
Acalanes:
After a slow start to the season, the Dons improved as the season progressed to earn third place in DFAL and the No. 13 spot in the tournament. They fell in the first round, 3-2, to No.4 Hercules.
Acalanes held a 1-0 lead at the half. Despite battling hard in the second half, the Dons ceded their lead and the game. "The Acalanes players performed well showing tremendous intensity, passion and outstanding character," said head coach Paul Curtis.
With a decidedly young team this year, the Dons focused on rebuilding. "Constant progress was made in training on individual and team development and improvement," Curtis said. "The program is in good shape going forward as there will be over 50 players returning to the program next season."
Acalanes finished their season 5-5-2 in league (7-12-4 overall).
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA