SOUTHERN SECTION SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS : Boys’ 4-A : Mater Dei Ties West Torrance, 1-1

After it was over, no one seemed to know quite what to think.

Mater Dei High School and West Torrance had played to a 1-1 tie after two overtimes in the Southern Section 4-A boys’ championship Friday night in front of 1,500 at Gahr High in Cerritos.

A coin toss determined that West Torrance would take the trophy and other emblems of victory for now; Mater Dei must wait until duplicates arrive.

“I’d like to have had a winner out of this,” said Mater Dei forward Paul Oldham, who scored the Monarchs’ only goal--his 41st of the season. “At least another overtime or something.”

Curt Bauer, Mater Dei coach, saw it differently.

“It’s hard to come all this way for a tie, but it’s better than going to penalty kicks,” he said. “It will strike (the players) later. They’re still pleased. They’ll come out tomorrow and realize we’re still champions.”

The match was tied, 1-1, after regulation, sending it into two 10-minute overtimes to be played in their entirety regardless of whether a team scored.

A minute into the first overtime, Oldham was fouled in the box and Mater Dei was awarded a penalty kick. It seemed like a great opportunity, but West Torrance goalkeeper Geoff Lloyd made a save on the kick, guessing correctly to lean low and left, and blocking the ball with his fingertips.

“It was a great save,” Oldham said. “I guess I counted my chickens before they hatched. I was just trying to put it in the corner.”

Russ DeFord, West Torrance co-coach, said he was not happy with the ending.

“I don’t like it,” he said. “You work your kids from Nov. 1 to March 1 and then two overtimes and that’s the end of it. There’s no kid around who like’s that.”

Mater Dei goalkeeper Mike Reis came up with a big save a few minutes later, stopping Dominick Cefalone’s breakaway shot from 30 yards.

Mater Dei had scored first in regulation, taking a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes on a shot by Oldham from about 25 yards out that hit the crossbar and ricocheted down before rolling in.

Michael Padian tied it about four minutes later when he took a nifty pass from Devin St. Pierre, scoring from about 15 yards.

Mater Dei, an unseeded team that upset second-seeded Royal in the quarterfinals, finishes 24-2-2. West Torrance, which was seeded fourth and upset top-seeded Westlake in the semifinals, finishes at 22-5-1.