SOUTHERN SECTION SOCCER PLAYOFFS : Acuna Leads Simi Valley Toward Title

Senior Ricky Acuna scored two goals and assisted on another to lead Simi Valley High to a 4-1 victory Tuesday night over Thousand Oaks.

The semifinal soccer win advances Simi Valley to the Southern Section 4-A final Friday night at Gahr against Alta Loma, which beat Santa Monica, 4-1, Tuesday.

Neither Acuna or Simi Valley Coach Andy Silva were particularly surprised with the outcome of the game at Thousand Oaks against their Marmonte League rivals.

“We knew all along we were going to beat them, “ Acuna said. “I think we’ll win it all, we can beat Alta Loma.”

Silva didn’t quite have that confidence prior to Tuesday’s game, but afterwards said, “I had a dream last night it would be 4-1. I knew our kids would deny them the victory.”

The match-up marked the fifth meeting this season for the two teams. The Pioneers won three, and the other two resulted in ties.

“It’s a shame these two teams are in the same bracket,” Silva said. “I really think we’re the best teams left.”

Simi Valley (25-0-4) scored first when Acuna headed a shoulder-height shot past Lancers goalie Tim Yates in the 26th minute. The goal came on a sharp inbounds pass from senior Steve MacKenzie.

“That was specially for this team,” Acuna said. “Our coach went over all the films and picked out their defensive weakness.”

Less than four minutes later, Acuna slipped by the Thousand Oaks defense and beat Yates again.

Thousand Oaks Coach Jerry Sawitz called the second goal the most crucial.

“Our fullback stepped aside and Ricky stepped through,” he said. “They really capitalized on our defensive breakdowns.”

All-Marmonte League goalie Steve Bame lost his shutout with 20 seconds left in the first half when the Lancers’ Tony Lanham scored on a tip-in.

Momentum swung drastically when, with one second left in the half, MacKenzie buried a 30-yard shot into the upper-right corner of the net to put the Pioneers ahead by two.

Robert Harris scored Simi Valley’s last goal in the 75th minute on an assist from Tim Schambers.

“Our kids were really up for today’s game, there was no doubt about that,” Silva said. “They have been playing well all season and deserve what they get.”

Thousand Oaks finished the season at 21-6-3.