Flintridge Prep, La Cañada, St. Francis soccer each nab All-CIF acclaim

Another strong season of boys’ soccer for the city of La Cañada’s three high school programs produced five awards on Monday afternoon as the CIF Southern Section released its All-CIF lists.

Thanks to a deep postseason run, Flintridge Prep led the way with three selections, while La Cañada High and St. Francis added one player each.

The Rebels finished with a 13-6-2 overall record and 2-4 mark in the Prep League, which translated into a fourth-place finish in league.

Flintridge Prep was given an at-large berth into the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs and made a name for itself immediately by defeating No. 2 seed Monrovia, 1-1, (4-2 on penalty kicks) in the first round of the playoffs.

The Rebels advanced to the semifinals, where they were defeated by Shadow Hills, 3-1.

“After we made the run in the playoffs, I think it would have been hard to have kept some of our guys off the list,” Flintridge Prep Coach AJ Yates said. “I would have loved to have seen more guys, but I’m happy for those who made it.”

Senior goalkeeper Hamilton Evans, junior defender Aidan Boyle and sophomore midfielder Andrew Lathrop were selected to the Division VI team.

Evans finished with 117 saves in 20 matches and tallied seven shutouts in being selected for a second straight year. The accomplished baseball player, however, truly made his mark in the postseason, first with some heroic saves in the penalty-kick victory over Monrovia and later with a rare assist off a kick in a 3-2 golden-goal victory over Rancho Mirage in the quarterfinals.

“Hamilton’s a great natural athlete who’s got a huge upside in soccer if we wants to continue playing,” Yates said. “He’s only been playing in high school and doesn’t play 50-60 games a year like club players do. He kept us in games and really showed how good he was in the playoffs.”

Boyle scored a goal for the Rebels even though job No. 1 was stopping an opposing team’s top offensive player.

“He’s our center back and does everything you ask of him,” Yates said. “He just does all the little things right and does them with a great attitude.”

Lathrop added a goal and an assist and Yates believes the sophomore will be the linchpin for future teams.

“He’s a very high-skilled guy and was our quarterback out there,” Yates said. “He’s very competitive and a great facilitator.”

Down the street from Flintridge Prep, La Cañada also put together another solid campaign in the fifth and final season for coach Alex Harrison.

The Spartans finished runner-up in the Rio Hondo League with an 8-1-1 mark, posted a 13-6-5 record and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Division VI playoffs before losing to Covina, 2-1.

Senior striker Lawrence Ku, who was only selected as a Rio Hondo League honorable mention, was his team’s lone selection to the Division VI All-CIF squad.

Ku turned in a spectacular season with the Spartans, leading the area with 25 goals and 19 assists.

“He’s more than deserving and he’s a great guy,” Harrison said. “He’s a great leader, a hard worker and he busted his butt this year.”

Between Flintridge Prep and La Cañada is St. Francis, which also produced an All-CIF selection in Division I.

The Golden Knights finished 7-10-5 this past season and 4-4-4 in league to take the Mission League’s third seed for the playoffs.

St. Francis opened with a 2-1 road win at Huntington Beach Edison before losing to Warren, 4-1.

Senior goalie Mark Garcia earned the Golden Knights’ lone All-CIF nod.

“The best thing for us this season was that by the end of last season, Mark was already one of our best players,” St. Francis Coach Glen Appels said. “We had a very young defense with no seniors except Mark and he stepped in and took over for us.”