HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP : Simi Valley Still Hot in Soccer

Nothing seemingly can stand in the way of the Simi Valley boys’ soccer team.

Not any member of the Southern Section 4-A Division; the Pioneers are the No. 1-ranked team in the division.

Not any team in the Marmonte League; the Pioneers are in sole possession of first place.

And not Newbury Park goalkeeper John Casarietti, who suffered a broken right thumb Wednesday at Simi Valley as midfielder Craig Hampton fired an 18-yard shot that caromed off the goalkeeper’s hand and into the net to cap a 2-0 victory.

The win gave Simi Valley (23-1, 9-0 in league play) a 1 1/2-game lead over Royal, which tied Westlake.

“He just hit a screamer,” Simi Valley Coach Andy Silva said. “It just bounced off his hand and rolled into the net.”

Striker Kenny Greninger scored on an assist by Andre Markarian 22 minutes into the match to give Simi Valley a 1-0 lead. Hampton’s unassisted goal came five minutes into the second half.

Casarietti was replaced by fullback Chris Joyce. Newbury Park dropped to 12-7-1, 4-4-1.

Simi Valley goalkeeper Angelo Maccano recorded his 13th shutout but did not make a save.

In other boys’ soccer matches:

Royal 0, Westlake 0--Goalkeepers Steve Hambly of Royal and Jevan Muenzer of Westlake battled on even terms in an overtime Marmonte League match at Moorpark College.

The outcome was something of an upset because Royal had lost just one league match in eight tries. Westlake, the league’s fourth-place team, dropped the Highlanders to 7-1-1 in league play, 17-3-2 overall.

Channel Islands 1, Thousand Oaks 0--Junior center Francisco Robles scored the only goal at the four-minute mark in the second half in the Marmonte League game. Goalkeeper Juan Vargas was credited with the shutout, making four saves.

Channel Islands improved to 9-4-3, 2-4-2.

Burroughs 0, Hart 0--Burroughs goalkeeper Mika Persson recorded his sixth shutout as the two teams played to a tie in a Foothill League match. Persson has allowed just four goals in his last nine games.

Burroughs fell to 9-5-4, 6-3-4. Hart is now 13-1-4, 7-1-4.

GIRLS’ SOCCER

Royal 3, Westlake 0--Staci Blough, Wende Brown and Erika Byrd each notched a goal for the Highlanders (16-4-1, 5-2-1) in a Marmonte League match at Westlake. Goalkeeper Carolyn Rahn notched the shutout. Westlake fell to 7-9-1, 2-5.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Oak Park 49, Fillmore 37--Oak Park neutralized Fillmore forward Eric Aguilera and held the Flashes scoreless in the first quarter of the Tri-Valley League game at Oak Park.

Aguilera, who scored 28 points Friday against Moorpark and 15 against Oak Park three weeks ago, scored just two. Oak Park’s Shawn Carson scored a game-high 18. No player scored in double figures for Fillmore (10-9, 2-5).

Eric Pryor and Dan Vigil each scored eight points in their starting debuts for Oak Park (8-12, 3-4). Carson made eight of 12 free throws. Pryor made four of four free throws in the fourth quarter. Oak Park made 15 of 25 (60%) free throws.

Thousand Oaks 78, Channel Islands 66--Mike Sandlin scored a game-high 21 points and teammate Chris Loll added 20 points as Thousand Oaks (10-10, 5-4) won a Marmonte League game at home.

Sherman Oaks 87, Glendale Academy 84--Sherman Oaks CES held on in the nonleague game at home as Glendale pared an 11-point deficit with six minutes to play.

Senior Cleve McWright posted career-high totals of 41 points and 16 rebounds to lead Sherman Oaks CES (11-4). McWright was 17 of 24 from the field and seven for seven from the free-throw line.

Chris Lindstadt scored 27 points to lead Glendale Academy (11-4).

Bell-Jeff 84, La Salle 70--Victor Nunez scored a game-high 23 points and teammate Ignacio Castro added 17 as Bell-Jeff (7-11, 4-3) notched a San Fernando Valley League win at home.