Second-half push lifts Crescenta Valley boys’ soccer to playoff win

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Crescenta Valley’s Ryan Sanfilippo and Ventura’s Michael Borchard simultaneously head the ball in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Tomik Baghramian heads the ball with Ventura’s Gaspar Martinez in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Dallas Kaauwai traps the ball in the air while attacking the Ventura goal in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Cameron Cuesta runs to teammate to congratulate Zander Bakunowski’s after he scored the first goal of the game in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Filip Szkutek is grabbed and congratulated by teammate Crescenta Valley’s Dallas Kaauwai after scoring the second goal of the game in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Ayden Blackwood and Ventura’s Cesar Nunes collide in the air while attacking the ball in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Cameron Cuesta heads the ball in the air with Ventura’s Andres Gallegos colliding with him in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Ventura’s goalie Jason Lowell makes a save as Crescenta Valley’s Tomik Baghramian tries to head a corner kick in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Dallas Kaauwai shoots against Ventura in the first half in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. He did not score. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Ryan Sanfilippo jumps over the ball while attempting to score against Ventura in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Dallas Kaauwai traps the ball in front of Valencia’s Max Alba in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s head coach Grant Clark climbs over a 10 to 12 foot fence to retrieve an $80 soccer ball that got kicked while the game against Ventura was in progress in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Kyle Queseda and Ventura’s Alvaro Ruiz battle to head the ball in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Dallas Kaauwai shoots in front of Ventura’s Horace Johnson in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Zander Bakunowski, off of a corner kick that was played short to him, shoots and scores the first goal of the game against Ventura in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Greg Manukian clears the ball up field against Ventura in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s goalie Sipan Arakelian leaps to keep the ball out of the goal as it hits the football field goal above him in the game against Ventura in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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As the game deepened, tempers were fragile, as Ventura’s Chris Monroy throws a punch that doesn’t land on Crescenta Valley’s Kyle Queseda in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Both Monroy and Queseda were given yellow cards. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Chris Sanfilippo cuts with the ball against Ventura’s David Kelly in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Kyle Queseda moves with the ball on his nose in the game against Ventura in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Ryan Sanfilippo clears the ball from Ventura’s Michael Borchard in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Shayan Afzali defends against Ventura’s Marcus De Los Santos in a CIF southern Section Division III first-round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Friday, February 16, 2018. Crescenta Valley won the game 3-1. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

By Jeff Tully

Feb. 16, 2018 6 PM PT

LA CRESCENTA — Being a front-runner and having opponents gunning for it are aspects the Crescenta Valley High boys’ soccer team is used to this season.

The Falcons established themselves as the favorite early on in Pacific League play and went on to win the program’s first league title in six seasons.

As the No. 2 seed in the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs, Crescenta Valley finds itself in the cross hairs of teams looking to pull off an upset.

In their first-round match Friday afternoon, the Falcons weathered an unproductive first half and came on in second half to earn a 3-1 home victory against Ventura.

“There was a couple times this week when I was thinking when you look at it on paper and you are the No. 2 seed, it almost feels like you’re supposed to win the game,” said Crescenta Valley coach Grant Clark, whose team is 14-0-1 in its last 15 matches. “It is really unfair, especially when you have a team like [Ventura] and they are big and they are physical and you kind of think what advantage do you get being a No. 2 seed except getting a home game?

“It’s really just a target that is put on you for other teams to shoot for. We have kind of had that target on us from early on in league and the guys have been able to manage those expectations pretty well. They are OK with that extra added pressure.”

Crescenta Valley got a goal and an assist from Kyle Quesada and scores from Zander Bakunowski and David Villasenor.

The win puts the Falcons (18-4-3), who haven’t lost since Dec. 28, into the second round Wednesday where they will take on host California at a time to be determined. Crescenta Valley, which lost to Camarillo, 2-0, in last season’s first round, snapped a three-match postseason winless streak, earning its first postseason win since a 3-1 wild-card win over Highland in 2014.

Things didn’t start off well for Crescenta Valley against Ventura (11-7-6), which placed third in the Channel League. The Cougars had some prime scoring chances in the first few minutes and took four of the game’s first five shots.

The best chance came in the third minute when Andres Gallegos directed a header on frame that was saved by goalkeeper Spian Arakelian.

After the first 20 minutes, the Falcons started to create some scoring opportunities. A prime chance came in the 21st minute when Kyle Quesada dribbled the ball in deep on the right side and made a pretty cross in front of the goal where Dallas Kaauwai blasted a shot that clinked inside the top far corner of the crossbar and banked out.

Neither team could score in the first 40 minutes as they went into halftime empty.

“There was a little bit of frustration in the first half, but it’s all about thinking about what you want to do next and taking advantage of every little opportunity you have,” Bakunowski said. “Sometimes it takes one extra hit, one extra ball and you have one.

“Our main focus today at halftime was that we had to pick it up in the second half.”

Eight minutes into the second half, Crescenta Valley broke through. Bakunowski received a pass from Ryan Sanfilippo and blasted a shot from 30 yards out that landed just inside the upper left portion of the crossbar for a goal.

Just six minutes later, the Falcons made it 2-0 when David Villasenor scored on an assist from Quesada.

“We were fine being 0-0 at half, but what we began to notice in the final 10 minutes of the first half is that [Ventura] looked like they were starting to wear down,” Clark said. “We felt like if we could get to the half 0-0 and make our adjustments that we were going to be in a good spot.

“We just wanted to come out in the second half and hard press for the first five minutes.”

The Cougars cut the lead in half in the 64th minute when Marcus De Los Santos made good on a penalty kick.

Crescenta Valley, which outshot Ventura, 16-10, created some breathing room when Quesada made good on a penalty kick in the 76th minute.

jeffrey.tully@latimes.com

Twitter: @jefftsports