Soccer Playoffs : La Jolla Controls Second Half to Defeat El Camino, 2-1

It was finesse over power Saturday as No. 4-seeded La Jolla High School stopped No. 12 El Camino’s upset bid, 2-1, in a San Diego Section 2-A boys’ soccer tournament quarterfinal game at La Jolla.

La Jolla (17-3-2) advanced to Wednesday’s semifinal match against St. Augustine (14-4-4).

Tied at the half, 1-1, the Vikings frustrated El Camino (10-11-2) in the second half by controlling the ball for a good portion of the 40 minutes. And all the scoring La Jolla needed in the second half came with 26 minutes remaining, when Ankist Zadeyan drilled a pass from Chris Baer past El Camino goalkeeper Brandon Marcy.

“We use that play a lot,” Zadeyan said. “Someone throws the ball in from the corner to the near-post of the goal, and Chris is standing there and either flicks the ball off his head toward the net or passes it off his chest.”

“El Camino is a very physical team that plays with a lot of heart. We had trouble settling the ball down (combining passes).”

El Camino gave La Jolla plenty of trouble in the first half. La Jolla scored 10 minutes into the game on a penalty kick by Roger Pettigrew, but couldn’t get anything else going. El Camino scored 10 minutes later when Adrian Maldonado punched the ball into the goal after taking a pass from Jeff Sanders.

La Jolla Coach Jerzy Szyndlar said two injuries may have caused his team’s slow start. Brian Keefe, City Western League most valuable player, has a severely sprained ankle, and Mike Hughes, La Jolla’s leading scorer, has a knee injury. Both played, although Szyndlar figured Keefe was at 50% of full strength and Hughes was 70%.

--SCOTT MILLER

In other 2-A boys’ quarterfinal games:

St. Augustine 1, San Diego 0--Mike Murphy scored the game-winning penalty kick as St. Augustine upset top-seeded San Diego at San Diego City College. The teams were tied 0-0 after regulation and two overtimes. Murphy’s goal gave St. Augustine a 3-2 advantage in penalty kicks.

GIRLS’ 2-A San Pasqual 5, Coronado 0--Kris Kuhlmeyer scored twice in the first half, and Cathy Stark added two goals in the second for top-seeded San Pasqual (20-2-1), which will play University of San Diego High School Wednesday in the semifinals. Jenny Strother added San Pasqual’s final goal.

University of San Diego High School 2, Hilltop 0--Left wing Tamara Nunez scored at the 19-minute mark of the first half, and right midfielder Marlo Warburton scored at the 14-minute mark of the second. Center/forward Bev Faria assisted on both goals. Goalkeeper Katy Stimeling made 20 saves.

Ramona 2, Christian 1--Kristi Smoyer scored to give Ramona a 1-0 lead after a scoreless first half. Christian tied the game five minutes later, but Ramona’s JoAnne Hamilton scored the game-winner with 18 minutes left. Ramona plays at second-seeded University City Wednesday.