Soccer Title Royal’s for the Taking

Simi Valley Royal took a big step toward winning its first Marmonte League boys’ soccer title since the 1999-2000 season with a 1-1 tie against visiting Thousand Oaks on Monday.

Royal (19-1-4, 9-0-3 in league play), the top-ranked team in the Southland by The Times, and No. 7 Thousand Oaks (21-3-3, 9-1-3) are tied for first with 21 points. But Royal can win the title outright with victories at Newbury Park on Wednesday and at Westlake Village Westlake on Friday.

Thousand Oaks, the defending league champion, took a 1-0 lead 16 minutes into the game Monday when Dylan Riley headed in a corner kick from Diego Barrera for his 12th goal of the season.

Royal tied the score 19 minutes later when Kyle Taylor headed in a pass from Jose Medina.

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Anaheim Servite will enter the Southern Section Division I boys’ soccer playoffs next week with its first league championship in 20 years.

The Friars (18-8-2, 5-2-1) saw to that Friday with a 4-1 victory over host Torrance Bishop Montgomery in their final Serra League game.

The victory gave Servite its first league title since winning the Angelus League in 1984.

-- John Ortega

Boys’ Basketball

Sylmar, which ended last week with an 8-0 record in the Valley Mission League, will forfeit six league victories because senior guard Joe Dickson was left off the school eligibility list.

The Spartans drop to third place in league and probably won’t be able to compete in the City Championship or City Invitational playoffs. Reseda (7-1) plays Monroe (7-1) on Wednesday for the league title.

Chatsworth has terminated after-school practice and suspended Coach Christian Dunbar for the final two West Valley League games as part of a self-imposed punishment for discovering that a junior player had submitted a false address.

Principal Dan Wyatt said Dunbar has cooperated in the investigation and will remain as coach. The school is still determining if the ineligible player played in Chatsworth’s two league victories.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Santa Ana Mater Dei, ranked No. 3 in the Southland by The Times, travels today to No. 15 Santa Margarita for a Serra League showdown. The Monarchs held off Santa Margarita, 56-49, on Jan. 28 at Santa Ana College. But the Eagles can move into a tie for first with a victory.

Coach Gary McKnight, who said his Monarchs (20-3, 4-0) did not shoot well in their 16-point loss Friday to Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy, the nation’s top-ranked team, added that it won’t be much easier at Santa Margarita (21-3, 3-1). “They’re very well-coached and will be fired up to play us down there,” McKnight said.

-- Dan Arritt