SOUTHERN SECTION SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS : Boys’ 4-A Championship : Palos Verdes’ Speed Is Too Much for Edison

After riding atop the Southern Section 4-A boys’ soccer poll all season, and going 33 games without a loss or a tie, the Palos Verdes High School Sea Kings finally have something to show for their efforts--the Southern Section championship.

The Sea Kings scored two first-half goals and defeated Edison, 2-0, in front of 1,300 at Gahr High School.

Unseeded Edison, the top team from the Sunset League, finished the season 14-6-3.

Edison Coach Mike DiGiovanni said he was pleased with his team’s performance, adding that Edison was the only Sunset League team to have reached a boys’ final.

“This was the type of season where nobody thought we were anything, really,” DiGiovanni said. “But we turned it around and we showed up here. We just weren’t prepared for the type of speed they had. We heard they were fast, but we didn’t think they were that fast.”

Palos Verdes scored about 13 minutes into the match when Jeffrey Bowers’ header bounced off goalie Mike Juric. The ball trickled to the right of the net, and before Juric could recover, Brandon DeMott kicked the rebound into the right side of the net.

About 4 minutes later, the Sea Kings mounted a furious assault on the Edison goal, pulling Juric out with one shot. Edison fullback Danny Brunner took over the net, saving a follow shot. But Bowers got off a third shot that put Palos Verdes ahead, 2-0.

Palos Verdes starting goalie Mark Antrobius and Timothy King shared the shutout.

The Sea Kings have been stingy all season, allowing only 10 goals in their 33 games and allowing only one team, Mater Dei, to score more than one in a match.

Palos Verdes has shut out 23 of 33 opponents.