BOYS’ SOCCER PREVIEW : Ocean View On a Roll, But Taking Nothing For Granted in Playoffs

The pieces came together nicely for the Ocean View boys’ soccer team this season, just as Coach Paul Kollar thought they would.

Now comes the last test.

The Seahawks play Servite Friday in the first round of the Southern Section 4-A playoffs. Ocean View is the No. 1 seed and has a 12-match unbeaten streak.

What makes that even more impressive is it was done in the always-tough Sunset League.

At various times, five of the seven league teams were ranked in the 4-A top 10. The Sunset League also produced last season’s 4-A champion, Santa Ana.

Yet, the Seahawks steamrollered through it with an 11-0-1 record. The tie? A 0-0 affair against Santa Ana, during which Ocean View had two goals nullified.

Domination might be an understatement. After all, the Seahawks allowed only three, count ‘em, three goals during league play.

“I knew we had a good team, but our league campaign even surprised me,” Kollar said.

Well, maybe a little surprised.

Kollar admits he expected a lot from the Seahawks this season. During the summer, they not only won their 14-team league, but also the 64-team tournament at the L.A. Summer Games.

“The way we played during the summer, I figured we had a chance to be this good,” Kollar said. “It just took some time.”

The Seahawks (18-4-3) never really struggled during the season. But they didn’t exactly overwhelm folks early on.

Injuries were part of the problem. Midfielder Scot Holmes (foot), forward Bradley Walker (knee) and goalie Brian Grace (back) missed some games. Also, forward Daniel Tomlin was out the entire nonleague season after being suspended from school.

Ocean View was 4-3-2 heading into the Orange tournament in late December.

“I wasn’t concerned,” Kollar said. “The year before we had got off to a great start, then couldn’t do a thing in league. We had problems even scoring goals.”

Things began to come together in a 3-0 victory over Servite in the first round of the Orange tournament.

“It was scoreless at halftime, but we had blown a couple chances,” Kollar said. “In the second half, we create opportunities and converted. You could see the kids gaining confidence. Everything fell into place.”

The Seahawks finished second in the tournament, losing in the final to Santa Ana, 4-2. It was their last loss.

When league play started, Holmes and Walker returned and Tomlin was reinstated.

“It took us a few games to get used to playing with everyone again,” Kollar said. “But every time we stepped on the field, we felt we couldn’t be beat.”

Defense was the Seahawks’ strength.

Defenders Kevin Coye, Ryan Robertson, Brian Engesser and Jayson Holmgren rarely made mistakes. The few they did commit were taken care of by Grace.

“We dominated teams territorially,” Kollar said. “It’s not that we played good defense, we controlled the ball. Teams just didn’t get that many chances to score.”

As a result, the Seahawks had 10 shutouts in league play.

But, now, none of that means a thing.

“There are a lot of good teams in the playoffs, so we’re taking nothing for granted,” Kollar said. “We’ll need a bit of luck here and there.”

The regular season ended on a more positive note for Mater Dei this year.

A year ago, the Monarchs had to forfeit 19 matches because of an ineligible player. They had finished second in the Angelus League, but had their 4-A playoff spot taken away.

This year, Mater Dei won the Angelus League and is seeded second in the playoffs. On Friday, the Monarchs (20-3-2) will play Santa Monica, a 1-0 winner Wednesday over Inglewood Morningside, in the first round.

“This was a big deal to the kids,” Coach Martin Stringer said. “Last year really hurt them. It unified them this year. We are more of a team this year than any time during my three-year tenure.”

Nathan Anderson will be on the spot for El Dorado during the 3-A playoffs.

Anderson has replaced Blaine Leitner, the Golden Hawks’ standout goalie. Leitner suffered a broken leg in the Golden Hawks’ 2-1 Empire League victory over Cypress Feb. 8. He underwent surgery the following day.

Anderson is 1-1 since taking over. He gave up five goals in a 5-2 loss to Esperanza and two more in a 3-2 victory over Katella Friday.

“I think we expected that,” Coach Gary Imai said. “They really have contrasting styles, so the defense has to get used to Nate. He’s more of a traditional goalie. He stays in the box. Blaine is more active. He likes to come out of the box.”

Leitner collided with a Cypress player with five minutes remaining and suffered a broken tibia and fibula. He had 12 shutouts this season for the Golden Hawks (14-2-8).

Boys’ Soccer at a Glance

Defending champions: 4-A--Santa Ana; 3-A--Diamond Bar; 2-A--Bell Gardens; 1-A--Corona Centennial and Newport Harbor (co-champions); Small Schools--Temecula Valley.

Top teams: 4-A--Ocean View (18-4-3), Mater Dei (20-3-2), Simi Valley Royal (18-2-1), Alta Loma (15-3-4); 3-A--Cerritos (19-1-4), Capistrano Valley (19-3-3), Santa Barbara (14-1-4), San Marcos (19-3-2); 2-A--Bell Gardens (22-1-1), Arroyo Grande (23-1-1), El Centro Central Union (16-0-1); 1-A--La Canada (18-0-1), Walnut (21-0-1), Riverside North (20-1-2), Corona (15-5-2). Small Schools--Rosemead Bosco Tech (22-1), Yucaipa (20-3), Claremont Webb (13-1), Agoura Oak Park (13-2-3).

Top players: 4-A--Tom Evans (Mater Dei), Steve Hambly (Royal), Barclay Harty (Servite), Trevor Ickes (Mater Dei), David Kaemmerer (Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula), Brian Mackerer (Manhattan Beach Mira Costa), Ryan Schomberg (Ocean View), Daniel Tomlin (Ocean View). 3-A--Octavio Benavides (Newhall Hart), Josh Bendik (West Torrance), Jason Faulk (Capistrano Valley), Diego Garcia (Hacienda Heights Los Altos), Alfredo Lomeli (Santa Barbara), Mark Mendez (Cerritos), Fred Romo (El Modena), Leonardo Rossetti (Burbank Burroughs). 2-A--Tuan Dang (La Quinta), Eric Hurtarte (Bell Gardens), Giuseppe Lombardo (Laguna Hills), Dan Molnar (El Dorado), Rafael Mosqueda (Santiago), Leonardo Sanchez (Pomona Ganesha), Robert Weber (Kennedy), John Steinkarp (West Hills Chaminade). 1-A--Jason Boyce (Corona del Mar), Jose Escudero (Saddleback), Jose Ibarra (Barstow), Peter Medel (Centennial), Bryan Peterson (Hemet), Felipe Rodriguez (El Monte), Alex Sanchez (Colton), Eric Villegas (Workman). Small Schools--Roberto Gonzalez (Downey Pius X), Howard Hahn (Whitney), Billy Horne (Long Beach St. Anthony), Mike LeCoz (Bosco Tech), Tim Pine (Yucaipa), Kevin Robbins (Agoura), Carlos Torres (Oak Park).

Notes: 4-A--No. 1-seeded Ocean View has not lost in 12 consecutive matches, all in the tough Sunset League. The Seahawks finished league play 11-0-1 and have not been defeated since losing to Santa Ana, 4-2, in the final of the Orange tournament. Mater Dei came back strong this year after forfeiting 19 matches at the end of the regular season a year ago. This season, they won the Angelus League and are the No. 2 seed. 3-A--Cerritos is an overwhelming favorite. The No. 1-seeded Dons have a strong goalkeeper in Mendez. He has 12 shutouts and has allowed more than one goal only once, giving up three against Long Beach Wilson in the team’s only loss. Offensively, the Dons have Eddie Lewis (16 goals) and Steve Hayne (10). 2-A--Laguna Hills, with goalies Mike Messinger and Devon Higgins, had 12 shutouts. The Hawks gave up only 24 goals in 25 matches. Dang, Mosqueda and Weber were the top three goal scorers in the Garden Grove League. Dang scored 25 goals, Mosqueda 23 and Weber 20. 1-A--La Canada, with goalies Kyle Bilowiza and Jeremy Mohrmon, has allowed only four goals and has 16 shutouts as a team. The only blemish on the Spartans’ record is a 0-0 tie against St. Francis. Small Schools--LeCoz has scored 37 goals for Bosco Tech. Gonzalez has 36 for Pius X.