Red-hot Panthers power into soccer final
By Steve Ames Special to the Acorn

A play that the Newbury Park High boys' soccer team had tried several times earlier in the game was successful for a goal in the final moments of the first overtime for a 10 win vs. the visiting Los Alamitos Griffins Tuesday afternoon at NPHS.

That triumph over the Sunset League foe means the Panthers will meet the Santa Margarita Eagles in the CIFSouthern Section Division I championship on Saturday at Warren High in Downey. The match is slated to begin at 2 p.m.

Santa Margarita defeated Mater Dei 2-1 Tuesday.

The Panthers will enter the game 13-4-3 overall. The Eagles are 21-2-4 overall.

Newbury Park coach Guy Sanford was delighted with Tuesday's outcome and the fact it means he can finally take a Panther soccer team to a CIFSS title match.

"It's a dream come true," Sanford said. "I can't tell you how proud I am of these boys. They pulled it together. They've worked their tails off this year. We didn't go to a lot of tournaments, so we don't have a huge record like a lot of these guys. The reason I did that is because last year I had so many injuries going into league.

"I thought I'd try something different, and in my estimation it worked. Nobody knows who we are, which is fine. They (Los Alamitos) as far as I know thought they had the game won before they got here. They had no idea what we could do. I think we made a name for ourselves, and I think they'll know who Newbury Park is from this point on."

The play that scored the lone goal came in the 89th minute as the ball was kicked deep into the far side of the pitch, and then, as the defense shifted over to the ball, the Panthers had their opportunity for success.

Junior midfielder Nick Harrison scored the goal.

"I was open on the side and got a great ball from (junior midfielder) Mario Montes down the side, a clean hitter right into the bottom corner.

"I had three other shots on goal, and I was just happy to get one in. The ball came across the field, and I just finished the header in the side net."

Added Sanford: "We'd been trying to run that all day. Nick played it right to his feet. It's a matter of putting it past the keeper. He did a great job of that."

After two 40-minute halves in which Los Alamitos nearly scored a goal in the final minutes, the teams played a 10minute overtime in which Newbury Park scored. The Panthers then put on a masterful defensive game during the second 10-minute overtime session to secure victory.

Head coach Don Martinez, whose Griffins finished 21-6-2 overall, left the pitch impressed with NPHS.

"You have to absolutely give credit to Newbury Park," Martinez said. "They're a team that came out to win, and they played a very good game. A very talented team, they have a forward (senior David Matic) who's an amazing player. They have an excellent goalkeeper (senior Troy Williams) that played very well.

"There's nothing that should be taken away from that team and their win. They came out and they were the better team today. It was a top-notch high school game. You saw a lot of play that was at a very high level."

As Sanford and his coaches prepare Newbury Park for Saturday's finale, they'll expect a strong offensive and defensive effort from the likes of senior midfielder Alex McKay, junior midfielder Kevin Staley, sophomore midfielder/forward Phillip Muscarella and senior forward/ midfielder Vinny Muscarella.