THE PREPS : 4-A Soccer Playoffs : Mater Dei Wins Opener as Oldham Scores 3

Paul Oldham scored three goals and Mike Ammann added another to give Mater Dei High School a 4-0 victory over Rolling Hills in a first-round Southern Section 4-A boys’ soccer match Thursday at Mater Dei.

Mater Dei (24-1-1), the defending 4-A co-champion and No. 1 seed, will play at Damien in the second round Tuesday.

Oldham, who has 40 goals this season, scored his first goal four minutes into the game. After taking a long pass from Sam George, Oldham spun past Rolling Hills goalkeeper Jason Smith and kicked the ball into the open net.

“I didn’t expect their goalie to come out the way he did,” Oldham said, “but when I did see him, I just tried to push the ball past him and then shoot the ball into the net.”

Added George: “It was a set play. We’ve been successful doing that play all season, and this time, it was no different.”

Oldham extended Mater Dei’s lead to 2-0 seven minutes into the second half when he headed in a pass from Doug West. Four minutes later, Oldham scored his third goal when he lined a shot from just inside the penalty area.

Mater Dei, which has not lost at home in two years, scored its fourth goal with 20 minutes gone in the half on Ammann’s high liner past Smith.

“I was pleased with the way the guys played today,” said Curt Bauer, Mater Dei coach. “They practiced with great intensity this week, and today, they showed that intensity. They knew what was on the line, and they weren’t going to let down.”

Rolling Hills (18-7-1), which was unable to get anything going early, had several opportunities to score deep in the Mater Dei zone. But it wasn’t until the final minutes that the Titans forced Monarch goalie Mike Reis to make a save.

In other 4-A first-round games:

Marina 2, Millikan 0 (OT)--Mike Sandel and Darrin Fishman scored in the first 10-minute overtime for host Marina (14-8-2). Marina goalie Dave Buehring had four saves. Marina, the Sunset League champions, plays Servite in the second round Tuesday.

Servite 1, Villa Park 0--Jim Berry scored 78 minutes into the match off an assist by Irwin Garcia to lead Servite (17-5-2) at home. After a punt by Villa Park goalie Danny Wetzler, Servite’s Rhett Harty retrieved the ball and passed it to Garcia. Garcia drove toward the goal and pushed the ball to Berry, who kicked the ball in from 12 feet out. Villa Park’s Wetzler had six saves. Servite goalie Tom Nieto had seven saves.

Fountain Valley 0, West Torrance 0--Fountain Valley advances on penalty kicks, 3-2, at West Torrance. The score was 0-0 after regulation and two 10-minute overtimes. Scott Holt, Derek Mahoney and Pete Staffa scored on penalty kicks for Fountain Valley (16-5-4). Tim Morenc has 13 saves for his ninth shutout of the season, also for Fountain Valley. Fountain Valley plays Upland Tuesday.

Santa Ana 2, Riverside Poly 1 (OT)--Ricardo Oseguera scored in overtime to break a 1-1 tie to give Santa Ana the upset at Riverside Poly. Santa Ana (7-9-6) finished third in the Century League and Riverside Poly (19-3-3) won the Citrus Belt League. Enio Blanco scored early in the second half to give Santa Ana a 1-0 lead. Eric Reed scored with 10 minutes left to tie the score at 1-1. Gus Plasencia had five saves for Santa Ana.