Local Soccer Teams Advance in Playoffs:

Last week was a banner week for local high school soccer squads. At Samohi, the Viking boys cruised to an easy 8-1 first round CIF playoff win over Gladstone High School. The Lady Vikings squad went head- to-head against San Luis Obispo and pulled out an exciting 3-2 victory. Both games were played at the Vikings’ home field, the newly installed artificial turf at John Adams Middle School. Serafin Rodriguez is the soccer director at Samohi.Meanwhile, both the boys and girls squads at St. Monica hosted first-round playoffs at their home field at Airport Park. The Mariners boys team, coached by Sergio Diaz, were co-champions in the Camino Real League, and they soundly defeated Upland Christian School 5-0 in the first round. The Mariner girls, coached by Maura Diorio, dominated play in their first-round game against L.A. Baptist but were unable to score. The game was tied 0-0 at the end of regulation play. The teams played another 20 minutes of sudden death and still no score. St. Monica finally won in shoot-out, 4-2, a tribute to the Mariner’s goalkeeper, Jessica Centeno, who is the Camino Real League’s 2009 MVP keeper.