Soto’s Goal Lifts Grant in Upset

Francisco Soto scored in the 50th minute of play, lifting the Grant High boys’ soccer team to a 1-0 upset of Birmingham on Friday in the first round of the City Section playoffs at Birmingham.

Soto’s goal, his 15th of the season, came after he took a pass from Ever Perez.

The Lancers (12-5-6) finished fourth in the Valley Pac-8 Conference and were seeded 26th among 32 teams. Seventh-seeded Birmingham, three-time defending Northwest Valley Conference champion, finished 10-2-6.

In other boys’ City Section first-round matches:

North Hollywood 1, Bell 0--Byron DeLeon scored on an assist by Moises Herrera with 10 minutes remaining in the first overtime period to lift the Huskies (9-4-2) at Bell.

Goalie Vartan Hovsepyan, who recorded his seventh shutout, stopped an Eagle penalty kick with a minute remaining in regulation.

El Camino Real 2, Lincoln 1--El Camino Real’s Jose Rivera scored on an assist from Gerardo Herrera with two minutes remaining in regulation play, sending the match to a scoreless overtime.

The match then moved to a shootout, which the Conquistadores (17-3-6) won on goals by Herrera, Jason Leonard and Mike Montgomery.

Kennedy 2, Hamilton 0--Joaquin Trejo and Jose Sanchez scored second-half goals and the Golden Cougars (9-7-5) upset the sixth-seeded Yankees at Hamilton.

Reseda 3, Crenshaw 1--Marvin Quijano had two goals for the top-seeded Regents (16-1-1) at Reseda.

Los Angeles 3, Verdugo Hills 1--Ramon Amaya, Dagoberto Melendez and Edgar Robles scored for host Los Angeles (11-2-2).

Marshall 6, Sherman Oaks CES 1--Omar Guerra scored twice for Marshall against eighth-seeded Sherman Oaks CES (8-1-3).

Poly 5, Cleveland 0--David Estrada and Juan Vega each scored two goals for the 10th-seeded Parrots (10-1-4) at Poly.

The Cavaliers finished 5-3-6.

In Southern Section first-round matches:

Royal 5, Palmdale 0--Kendall Simmonds and Ryan Walker each scored two goals and Brandon Kay had one in a Division I match to help the host Highlanders (22-5-1) to their 12th consecutive victory.

Palmdale finished 15-2-7.

Crespi 3, Fillmore 1--Justin Canel scored two goals and Francisco Espinoza one to give Celts (14-6-2) a 3-0 first-half lead in a Division IV match at Fillmore.

Luis Abrego scored on a penalty kick for Fillmore (14-2), the Tri-Valley League champion.

Notre Dame 2, Oak Park 1--Niko Gutrugianios scored two goals to lead the Knights (13-7-1) in a Division IV match at Oak Park.

Chip Werner scored with two minutes to play for the Eagles (13-6-1).

Moorpark 2, Rosemead 0--Second-half goals by Hugo Ramirez and Mark Weaver lifted the Musketeers (18-5-1) in a Division III match at Moorpark.

Buena 1, Saugus 0--Ariel Hurtado scored on a header in the 28th minute, lifting the Bulldogs (15-3-5) past the Centurions (18-5-3) in a Division II match at Buena.

Simi Valley 3, Arroyo Grande 2--Trailing, 1-0, early in the match, the Pioneers scored three consecutive goals in a Division I victory over the Eagles (19-7-1) at Simi Valley.

Chris Harris, John Gonzalez and Mustafa Sarwari scored for Simi Valley (21-4-3), which will play Bell Gardens on Tuesday.

GIRLS

Granada Hills 2, Grant 0--Sabrina Love had a goal and an assist for the Highlanders (10-6-2) in a City Section 4-A Division first-round match at Granada Hills.

Palisades 1, El Camino Real 0--Natalie Gardner scored on a crossing pass from Bianca Singletary to lift the Dolphins (3-6-2) over the host Conquistadores (6-5-3) in a 4-A Division match.