VALHALLA EARNS 9TH CHAMPIONSHIP

The Valhalla High Norsemen won the school's ninth San Diego CIF soccer championship by defeating San Dieguito Academy, 2-1, to capture the Division II boys section title on Saturday at Eastlake High.

The Norsemen scored the go-ahead goal in the 49th minute on a header by senior midfielder Dylan Lizarazo from senior Elijah Martinez.

“I saw San Dieguito packing the back post and I said to myself that I was going to go for it,” Lizarazo said. “I went in toward the goal and Eli hit it to me perfectly. I didn't know I could jump that high, and I got it into the back of the net.”

Valhalla 2, San Dieguito Academy 1

Coach Brad Baughn has now won a section title in three different decades, leading the Norsemen to Division I titles in 1998 and '99 (Division I), and 2009 (Division II).

“When Dylan got his head on the goal everybody went crazy because he's the grunt worker of our team,” Baughn said. “He went up so high to get it. It was a beautiful goal.”

Sophomore star Sevastian Dekho, a candidate for the county player of the year, scored the game's first goal when he received a through ball from Martinez in the game's fifth minute.

It was Dekho's 28th goal of the season. Deko is a different player than Vahlalla's two-time section player from Baughn's last championship edition, Jacob Ward. “He's just a natural goal scorer,” Baughn said of his sophomore, who plays as the lone forward in the Valhalla formation. “He's very quick and smart in his first touches.”

Baughn said he will be continuing to work with Dekho for the next two years, also giving the veteran coach a chance to equal the five boys championships at Valhalla achieved by legendary coach George Logan, who spent 16 years leading the Norsemen.

Division II girls

Westview 1, Valhalla 0: Sophomore Elly Van Den Einde scored on a high-lofted shot from 20 yards away in the 71st minute to bring a sudden end to the rising tension of a scoreless game with second-seeded Valhalla and sent the Wolverine into jubilation as she had the only goal in the title match.

Van Den Einde's goal — her ninth of the year — came as a result of space between Valhalla's lines of defense. Van den Einde was able to kick the ball into the air over the back of the defense, including the goalie, who had committed forward.

Both teams put forth scoring chances but Alexandra Lum was credited with the shutout for fifthseeded Westview (14-3-2). Valhalla fell to 11-2-3.

An improbable goal gave the No. 7-seeded Longhorns (8-6-1) an improbable 1-0 victory over No. 4 Francis Parker (9-7-2) in the Division III final on Saturday afternoon at Mission Bay.

In the 48th minute in the final, Escurra accepted a pass from fellow senior Anthony Ceda to the right of the goal and proceeded to razzle-dazzle dribble before knocking a low shot from 20 yards out that snuck under the goalie's reach, hit the post and entered.

“He turned something out of nothing,” said Kaiser, who guided RBV to a girls title in 2016 and now the Longhorns' first boys banner. “He's a shifty player and somehow makes things happen.”

About 8 minutes after his game-winner, Escurra was involved in a nasty collision near midfield and had to be carted off the field with a left leg bruise.

“It's fine now,” said Escurra, visibly limping. “I couldn't be happier.”

RBV senior goalie Eduardo Santigao recorded consecutive playoff shutouts of No. 2 Orange Glen (1-0) and No. 3 Mater Dei (2-0) before blanking the Lancers, who had outscored opponents, 52-38.

“You guys have made history for this school,” Kaiser told his troops before being doused with water on the sideline. “I couldn't have asked for a better group.”

Girls Soccer Division III

Sage Creek 2, La Jolla 0: After missing nine games with a broken left wrist, sophomore Seren Johnson entered as a sub midway through the first half and soon scored her first career goal to lift No. 10 Sage Creek to its first girls championship.

“This is amazing,” said Johnson, who played with a large brace on her arm. “I just got my cast off two days ago.”

In its six-year history, Sage Creek (11-5-3) was 1-4 in the playoffs before knocking off No. 7 Santana (1-0), No. 2 Mira Mesa (3-2) and No. 3 Central (6-0) this spring. The Bobcats began 2-4-1 but were 9-1-1 in their last 10 games.

Sophomore Sarah Cobb posted her third playoff shutout, and junior Meghan Swiatlowski assisted on Johnson's goal on a turn-around blast from the 6-yard box. Sage Creek took a 1-0 lead on an own goal by La Jolla (6-8-1) in the 19th minute when sophomore Kira Carney arched a corner kick that deflected off a La Jolla defender into the net.

“It's such a blessing to have all this happen in my first year,” Bobcats coach Madison Mclean said.

“I got lucky with a perfect bounce and went in,” Robledo said. “The letters are kind of raised in the (football) end zone. I was so thankful.”

Olympian, the South Bay League champion, improved to 14-2-2. The 14th victory equaled the most in a single season for the program.

The Eagles advanced to the final by way of a 2-0 win over High Tech North County.

“The boys worked very hard and deserve all this — the league championship and CIF,” Olympian fourth-year head coach Isaac Gonzalez said. “These boys are amazing workers. I wouldn't trade one of them for (Lionel) Messi.”

Senior Noah Alvardo earned the victory in goal, turning back a few modest challenges.

Division IV Girls

Classical Academy 5, Southwest (SD) 0: Classical Academy girls soccer head coach Dan Salas knew his team was talented entering the delayed 2020-21 season, he just had to prove it to his players.

“I knew I got dealt aces early on,” Salas said. “I knew we were good, but no one else did. It didn't take me long to convince them once we starting winning.”

Salas' Caimans scored four first-half goals en route to defeating the Southwest Raiders to win the San Diego CIF Division IV title.

Five different Classical Academy players scored, as the Caimans improved to 22-3 on the season. Sophomore Zoe Vandergrift, starting in place of injured Tai Emily, scored in the 11th minute for the game's opening goal on a header.

Freshman Hannah Hayes, the team's leading scorer with 23 goals coming into the final, scored just nine minutes later on a shot from more than 15 yards away after working her way clear into the right side of the box.

Junior Kayla Preciado scored off a corner kick when she sent the ball toward the goalmouth and it def lected off the goalie and into the net in the 26th minute.