HIGH SCHOOL PLAYOFFS : Westlake Is Footloose in 3-0 Victory

In the aftermath, Jeremy Wessely shuffled his feet in a puzzling pattern, trying to re-create a unique move that left two defenders and a goaltender helpless.

The re-creation may have left something to be desired, but the goal didn’t.

The Westlake High forward’s acrobatic score midway through the first half sparked the Warriors to a 3-0 victory over Servite in a Division I wild card boys’ soccer match Wednesday at Simi Valley High.

Westlake (12-5-5) will play Peninsula (25-3), the Bay League champion, on Friday.

“(Wessely) just created that on his own,” Westlake Coach Lalo Alvarado said. “He could have had a shot in-between two guys but he took an extra touch.”

That extra touch and a quick spin past two defenders left Wessely wide open at the 18-yard line, where he rocketed his 13th goal past Servite goalie Jason Lambert.

The goal seemed to spark the Warriors, who looked tentative early against the less-skilled Friars (8-13), third in the Golden West League.

The Friars attempted to muscle the Warriors off the ball, and had some success in the opening minutes. But after Wessely’s goal Westlake, the Marmonte League’s No. 3 team, settled into its game plan of exploiting the wings and wore Servite down.

“It took us 15 or 20 minutes to start settling down,” Alvarado said. “We were too fired up.”

Once they settled down, the goals began to come. After Lambert deflected a Warrior shot, midfielder Rossano Rocha poked in the rebound, giving Westlake a 2-0 lead. Then with only seconds remaining in the half, Westlake’s Hyun Graham nudged another deflection into the net.

The Warriors still controlled the action in the second half, but their intensity seemed to drop.

“We need to stay intense when we get (the lead),” Wessely said. “Each game it needs to be brought up even more.”

Most of Westlake’s starters were on the bench by the time the final whistle sounded.

Although Alvarado admittedly knows nothing about Peninsula, he knows his young team--composed primarily of sophomores and juniors--will need to step up their intensity to peak levels in order to pull off an upset.

“We’re getting the confidence that a pretty good team needs,” Alvarado said.