Pacifica Christian boys’ soccer rejoins playoff field, falls to South El Monte
A short-lived postseason stay could not detract from steps taken forward for the Pacifica Christian Orange County boys’ soccer program.
The Tritons experienced their revival this season after some struggles to build back up coming out of the coronavirus pandemic.
When the Tritons walked off the field after a 6-0 loss to South El Monte in a CIF Southern Section Division 7 wildcard match on Tuesday, Pacifica Christian coach Johnny Marmelstein kept things in perspective.
“My seniors, before this year, had only won two games,” Marmelstein said. “We were able to get third place [in the Academy League]. We’ve allowed the fewest goals per game overall, the entire season, in school history. Came in third place for the first time in school history, so there’s a lot of good.”
Pacifica Christian (5-11-3) got back to the playoffs for the first time since 2019, when it finished fourth in the San Joaquin League and advanced to the second round after a 4-3 overtime win at Rancho Cucamonga United Christian Academy.
In their return trip, the Tritons had just two players with club experience on their roster — senior midfielder Ian Cross and freshman midfielder Aiden Lynch.
They also had a spirited goalkeeper in junior Ethan Shumlas, who was under siege against South El Monte (11-10-3). He turned away 10 shots in a never-ending offensive by the Eagles.
“You can’t fault him for the passion that he has,” Marmelstein said of Shumlas. “He’s a fighter. He wants to win games, and he doesn’t like to get scored on. I’m not going to ever blame a keeper when he shows that kind of fire. I love it.”
Fabricio Ocampo had scored twice to lift the Eagles to a 2-0 lead 16 minutes in, the second coming on a counterattack following a deep throw-in by the Tritons.
“It felt pretty good,” Ocampo said. “It was the first time in a while this school has done something this good. It’s just exciting to keep on going to a higher level.”
Christopher Vasquez also scored twice, and Christian Madrid and Abraham Varela each added a tally for South El Monte.
“We play in a really tough league,” South El Monte coach Eduardo Rodriguez said. “[In the Mission Valley League], you got teams like Gabrielino, which is actually ranked number two in this division. We’re hoping maybe in the future we can face them. That means we’ve made it pretty far because I’m sure they’re going to make it pretty far.”
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