Thousand Oaks Ousted From Soccer Playoffs

The season the Thousand Oaks High boys’ soccer team had been pointing to for years slipped away from the Lancers--literally.

Santa Monica slogged past visiting Thousand Oaks, 2-0, in a first-round Southern Section Division I playoff match Friday on a soggy, muddy field.

“It was sloppy,” Lancer midfielder Ryan Dobbins said. “We couldn’t get our feet. Everyone kind of ran around with their heads cut off.”

The Lancers (11-2-4), ranked No. 7 in Division I, controlled play in the first half, but fell behind, 1-0, on a sudden goal in the 27th minute by midfielder Juan Jiminez. He stole the ball in the Thousand Oaks side, made a quick give-and-go pass to Michael Berman and kicked the ball through goalkeeper Ken Firmin’s legs.

Thousand Oaks relied on its short-passing, disciplined offense, but its attack was rendered ineffective by the wet conditions and the Vikings’ hustling, physical defense.

“Talent-wise it was just about even,” Lancer fullback Andy Wilson said. “The playing field was the deciding factor today.”

Gabriel Barenfield scored an insurance goal for Santa Monica (19-5) in the 26th minute of the second half, ending Thousand Oaks’ best season since Rubin Hernandez began coaching the Lancers four seasons ago.

“This season was my dream five years ago,” Hernandez said before the game.

In 1988, Hernandez coached most of the team’s 11 seniors on a youth all-star team, formed them into a club team, the Conejo Valley United Tornadoes and coached them through high school. His first two years he coached them on the junior varsity, and the past two years he has been the varsity coach. The group, which includes nine starters, comprises the nucleus of the team.

“This was our last year, we’ve all matured together,” Dobbins said. “This was the year to shoot for, but we didn’t finish so well.”