Photos

By Keith Peters
Palo Alto Online Sports

Four previous trips to the Central Coast Section playoffs produced no victories for the Sacred Heart Prep boys' soccer team. Whether it was a jinx or a curse, it's now gone.

The Gators exorcised those demons with a 2-1 victory over visiting Carmel in a CCS Division III opener on Tuesday on a sunny, rainy cold afternoon.

The No. 12-seeded Padres finished 9-4-6 while the No. 5 Gators improved to 16-2-3 and moved on to the quarterfinals for the second straight year. SHP had a first-round bye last season, thus the second-round berth.

This time, the Gators had to earn their way into the next round with their historic victory.

"Everyone's excited," said SHP coach Armando del Rio. "It's been one of this group's goals. Now we need to move on."

Tuesday's victory was the first section win for the Gators since they finished second in the Division III (fall) playoffs in 2007. SHP won seven CCS Division III titles from 1988-2006 and finished second seven times. Since those glory days, the Gators have come up empty.

While SHP had every right to rejoice after Tuesday's win, there was no overt celebration. SHP treated the victory like any other and del Rio was safe from having a tub of water dumped on him.

"This should have come a long time ago," del Rio said of the long-awaited victory. "We all feel satisfaction."

The feeling was well deserved, given the frustration the Gators have felt the previous season. Last year, for example, SHP took a 16-0-4 record into the postseason before North Monterey County ended the unbeaten season with a 2-1 defeat.

"Last year we had a team that could win it all," said del Rio. "We used to talk about CCS championships. Now, it's just one game at a time. Saturday is the next focus."

Sacred Heart Prep likely will face No. 4 San Mateo (12-4-4) in the quarterfinals. The Bearcats will host No. 13 Santa Cruz (10-10) on Wednesday. San Mateo tied for the CCS Division II title last season.

"It's a game we can win," del Rio said. "We seem to rise to the challenge against good teams."

Sacred Heart Prep didn't exactly do that to start Tuesday's match, despite controling play early on and having three good shot attempts that missed. Carmel shook things up after a corner kick wasn't cleared and eventually converted by Trey Coppinger with 12:12 left in the first half.

"At first we were a little shocked," said SHP senior Robert Hellman. "But, we knew we had a lot of time to go."

In stoppage time, Hellman got the Gators on the board after taking a cross from senior Willy Lamb and heading it in. That sent SHP into intermission with renewed vigor.

"It was a huge momentum swing," said Hellman.

"I think it woke us up," del Rio said of Carmel's goal. "We felt like we were controling the game. Unfortunately it (wakeup call) came when we were down a goal. After that, the difference-makers came out."

Hellman and Lamb teamed up again in the second half. After Hellman fired a hard free kick at the Carmel keeper that was punched away, Lamb launched a corner kick into a pack of players. Hellman got a head on it and made it a 2-1 match. The Gators missed on a few other scoring opportunities and survived a few Carmel near-makes for the triumph.

"It was huge," Hellman said of the victory. "It was like a curse for us, that we hadn't won before. Now we're looking to push forward."

Girls' basketball
After an up and down season in the PAL Bay Division, Menlo-Atherton began the postseason on an up note with a 53-25 romp over visiting Independence in a CCS Division I opener on Tuesday in Atherton.

The No. 9-seeded Bears (12-13) next will play at No. 8 Milpitas (10-13) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

The Trojans were in the stands Tuesday to scout their first opponent. They saw Erin LaPorte and Katherine Hayse hit 3-pointers on M-A's first two possessions, and the Bears never looked back. Emma Heath scored eight of her game-high 13 points in the first quarter as the Bears built a 20-6 lead before pulling away for a 23-point lead at the half. Heath added five rebounds while LaPorte had 10 points for M-A.

M-A forced 28 turnovers in the first three periods while grabbing a 44-17 lead. The victory was the first CCS triumph for M-A first-year coach Morgan Clyburn.

Boys' basketball
Menlo-Atherton's venture into the postseason came to a quick end following a 61-54 to visiting Wilcox on Tuesday night. The No. 9-seeded Bears finished 11-15.

Menlo-Atherton put up a furious rally in the fourth quarter by scoring 29 points, but it wasn't enough to make up for the 15-point deficit the Bears faced heading into the final period.

Menlo-Atherton actually held a 54-53 lead after a basket by Ryan Roberts with under a minute to play. The unseeded Chargers, however, went on an 8-0 run to close the game and end M-A's season.

Senior Jamar Gaddis scored 13 points for M-A, 10 coming in the wild fourth quarter. It was his final prep game, along with fellow seniors Alex Aguiar, Blake Olsen, Esteban Samra and Peter Roumeliotis.

2013 CCS SOCCER PLAYOFFS
BOYS
Division I
Wednesday's first round
No. 11 Watsonville (12-6-2) at No. 6 Sequoia (12-5-3), 4 p.m.
No. 7 Salinas (10-6-3) at No. 10 Fremont (14-6), 6 p.m.
No. 12 Menlo-Atherton (9-7-3) at No. 5 Mountain View (15-2-3), 3 p.m.
No. 13 Santa Teresa (7-5-8) at No. 4 Alvarez (17-2), 6 p.m.
No. 9 Palo Alto (13-5-2) at No. 8 Evergreen Valley (14-2-2), 4 p.m.

Saturday's quarterfinals
(Sites and times TBA)
Watsonville or Sequoia vs. No. 3 Bellarmine College Prep (14-4-5)
Salinas or Fremont vs. No. 2 Carlmont (14-3-3)
Menlo-Atherton or Mountain View vs. Santa Teresa or Alvarez
Palo Alto or Evergreen Valley vs. No. 1 Alisal (17-0-3)

Division II
Wednesday's first round
(All matches start at 3 p.m.)
No. 11 Pajaro Valley (10-6-3) at No. 6 Lincoln (7-6-6)
No. 10 Los Gatos (11-5-4) at No. 7 Serra (13-8-1)
No. 12 Branham (11-5-4) at No. 5 Leigh (11-6-3)
No. 4 Willow Glen (12-5-3) at No. 13 Westmont (13-4-2)
No. 9 St. Ignatius (10-5-4) at No. 8 Santa Clara (12-6-2)

Saturday's quarterfinals
(Sites and times TBA)
Pajaro Valley or Lincoln vs. No. 3 St. Francis (11-4-3)
Los Gatos or Serra vs. No. 2 Mt. Pleasant (13-2-5)
Branham or Leigh vs. Willow Glen or Westmont
St. Ignatius or Santa Clara vs. No. 1 Archbishop Mitty (16-1-6)

Division III
Tuesday's first round
Sacred Heart Prep 2, Carmel 1
Gilroy 3, Saratoga 0

Wednesday's first round
No. 11 Greenfield (10-3) at No. 6 North Monterey County (9-8-3), 3 p.m.
No. 10 Menlo School (12-5-3) at No. 7 Burlingame (7-6-7), 6 p.m.
No. 13 Santa Cruz (10-10) at No. 4 San Mateo (12-4-4), 3 p.m.

Saturday's quarterfinals
(Sites and times TBA)
Greenfield or North Monterey County vs. No. 3 Harbor (12-5-3)
Menlo School or Burlingame vs. No. 2 Soledad (14-3-3)
Sacred Heart Prep vs. Santa Cruz or San Mateo
Gilroy vs. No. 1 Half Moon Bay (15-3-2)

GIRLS
Division I
Wednesday's first round
(All matches are at 6 p.m.)
No. 11 San Benito (11-3-4) at No. 6 Palo Alto (13-4-2)
No. 10 Leland (11-4-2) at No. 7 Menlo-Atherton (9-6-5)
No. 12 Piedmont Hills (15-2-3) vs. No. 5 Mountain View (15-4-1)
No. 13 Santa Clara (12-4-2) at No. 4 Carlmont (14-4-2)
No. 9 Alisal (15-3-1) at No. 8 Sequoia (15-3-2)

Saturday's quarterfinals
(Sites and times TBA)
San Benito or Palo Alto vs. No. 3 Los Gatos (14-3-2)
Leland or Menlo-Atherton vs No. 2 Woodside (17-0-3)
Piedmont Hills or Mountain View Santa Clara or Carlmont
Alisal or Sequoia vs. No. 1 Santa Teresa (14-2-2)

Division II
Wednesday's first round
No. 11 Burlingame (11-6-3) at No. 6 Saratoga (9-6-3), 6 p.m.
No. 10 Valley Christian (15-4-3) at No. 7 Aptos (8-4-6), 6 p.m.
No. 12 Aragon (4-7-7) at No. 5 Los Altos (10-5-3), 3 p.m.
No. 13 Christopher (10-6-3) at No. 4 Del Mar (16-0-4), 3 p.m.
No. 9 Branham (10-8-2) at No. 8 Presentation (12-5-1), 3 p.m.

Saturday's quarterfinals
(Sites and times TBA)
Burlingame or Saratoga vs. No. 3 Gilroy (11-3-5)
Valley Christian or Aptos vs. No. 2 St. Francis (16-3-1)
Aragon or Los Altos vs. Christopher or Del Mar
Branham or Presentation vs. No. 1 Archbishop Mitty (18-0-4)

Division III
Wednesday's first round
No. 11 Pacific Collegiate (9-4-2) vs. No. 6 Harbor (6-6-6) at Soquel High, 6 p.m.
No. 10 Pinewood (14-3-2) at No. 7 R.L. Stevenson (12-4-4), 3 p.m.
No. 12 Priory (7-4-6) at No. 5 Santa Catalina (12-1-4), 3 p.m.
No. 13 King's Academy (7-6-5) vs. No. 4 Scotts Valley (9-6-5) at Aptos High, 4 p.m.
No. 9 Live Oak (9-8-2) at No. 8 Sacred Heart Prep (9-4-6), 3 p.m.

Saturday's quarterfinals
(Sites and times TBA)
Pacific Collegiate or Harbor vs. No. 3 Soquel (10-6-2)
Pinewood or R.L. Stevenson vs. No. 2 Menlo School (12-3-5)
Priory or Santa Catalina vs. King's Academy or Scotts Valley
Live Oak or Sacred Heart Prep vs. No. 1 Santa Cruz (12-2-5)

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