Thousand Oaks Has Seriously Good Time

Looks like it’s time to take the Thousand Oaks High boys’ soccer team seriously.

The Lancers, who have not earned one of the Marmonte League’s three automatic postseason berths since the 1992-93 season, downed defending league champion Royal, 2-0, in overtime Wednesday night at Royal.

The victory, accomplished with a pair of Danny Ermolovich goals, puts Thousand Oaks (11-2-3, 7-0-1 in league play) on track for its first league title in at least 11 seasons.

“I’ve been coaching at [Thousand Oaks] for 10 years and we’ve never won the league,” Lancer Coach Mark Tietjen said. “And there’s no banners in the gym so I don’t think we’ve ever won one.”

Camarillo’s 1-1 tie with Newbury Park on Wednesday keeps the Scorpions (7-4-3, 4-2-1) in second place, 2 1/2 games back of the Lancers.

Royal (13-5-3, 3-2-2) is in third place and preseason favorite Simi Valley (9-6-1, 2-4-1), which lost Wednesday to Agoura, appears to have folded its tent.

Ermolovich got Thousand Oaks’ first goal two minutes into the 20-minute overtime when he took a pass from Mark Bampton and blasted a 20-yard shot that Highlander goalkeeper Nelson Jimenez punched into the air.

Jimenez and the ball went separate ways upon hitting the turf: Jimenez onto the goal line and the ball into the net.

Ermolovich dribbled 40 yards and through five defenders for his second goal, tapping the ball into the net after faking Jimenez to the ground.

“Thousand Oaks was the better team tonight,” said Royal Coach Kevin Corley, whose team is not in either first or second place for the first time in 12 years. “That’s hard to say because we’re not used to it but the difference was that they finished plays and we didn’t.”

In other boys’ games:

Agoura 2, Simi Valley 1--Adam Lieberman scored two minutes into overtime, giving the host Chargers (7-9-1, 3-4) a Marmonte League victory.

Chatsworth 2, Birmingham 2--Birmingham’s Roman Gorbatkin scored with two minutes to play and the Braves overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit in the Northwest Valley Conference game.

San Fernando 1, Kennedy 1--Alfonso Mora scored with two minutes to play in a Northwest Valley Conference game to give host Kennedy (6-5-4, 2-2-3) a tie.

GIRLS

Simi Valley 2, Agoura 0--Cara DeStefano and Valorie Annuziata scored in the first 20 minutes of a Marmonte League game at Simi Valley, allowing the Pioneers (11-5, 7-1) to maintain the league lead.

Camarillo 1, Newbury Park 0--Alix Rucinski scored in the final minute with an assist from Ashley Lefler to give the Scorpions (5-6, 2-6) a Marmonte League victory at Camarillo.

Royal 2, Thousand Oaks 1--Camille Butcher’s unassisted goal with 10 minutes to play lifted the Highlanders (9-8-1, 4-3) to a Marmonte League upset of the Lancers (8-5-2, 5-2-1) at Thousand Oaks.

La Canada 2, Monrovia 1--Sarah Klang-Glienna scored the winning goal with five minutes to play in the Rio Hondo League game.