Westlake loses to T.O. in soccer

Westlake loses to T.O. in soccer

MORRIS COHEN/The Acorn NOBODY'S BALL--Omar Sanchez, left, of Westlake and Pedro Gonzalez of Thousand Oaks keep focused on the ball as it falls between them during a game last week at Westlake High School.

By Steve Ames

Special to The Acorn

The Thousand Oaks boys’ soccer team continues its winning ways in pursuit of a possible league championship.

At TOHS, the ball moves quickly and it’s usually at the opponent’s end of the field.

"We have really good team speed this year, a lot of high level players out there. When they’re on, they play good soccer," said head coach Mark Tietjen, in his 11th year directing the Lancers.

Last week, the Lancers blanked the host Westlake Warriors, 2-0, as junior forward Jason Leopoldo and senior midfielder/defender Dylan Riley scored a goal apiece.

On Friday at Thousand Oaks, the Lancers tied the Calabasas Coyotes, 3-3, to take their season record to 18-3-2 overall, 6-1-2 in Marmonte League.

Meanwhile, Warrior head coach Bill Propster appreciates the speed of the game when Thousand Oaks is playing.

"This is a fast game," he said, "especially (a Thousand Oaks-Westlake game). The speed of play is incredible. One guy gets it going down. It goes from one guy to the next guy and we counterattack and it comes back.

"This is a high level of play. You can see a lot of high school games with people just kicking the ball. These guys are playing. They’ve got guys on the national team."

Those players include senior forward Diego Barrera and Leopoldo, who are on the California-South Olympic Development Program Team that’s in training in Las Vegas for the ODP regional championship.

"We’ve got guys on the team or could be on it, too," Propster said. "Thousand Oaks might be the best team in the nation. If you look at their players and who they have, how many teams have two national players and seven guys from a national championship team? Very few.

"So their level of play is incredible and we’re hanging in there and battling with young guys. I’d like a different result, but I like what’s happening."

The Lancers are a formidable Marmonte League representative and a team that Propster anticipates will have a strong finish.

"Most teams that play Thousand Oaks are looking to get a tie and we were coming out to win the game," he said after his team’s loss to the Lancers last week.

"We wanted to score," he said. "We wanted to play heads up and I thought we did. I think we played pretty well. We had chances. The last time we played them, it was 4-0, and we never had a chance to score."

Propster said that in last week’s match, Westlake had a lot of opportunities.

"The first half we were down 2-0 and could have easily been 2-2 or 3-3 or something like that," he said. "So I don’t really feel too badly about the way we played. There’s a couple of things we can do better.

"When you are playing against Thousand Oaks, they have a ton of great players, guys to battle, and we’re very young. I am not disappointed in how we played. I am disappointed in the result."

Westlake bounced back from the loss to Thousand Oaks by beating the host Agoura Chargers, 4-0, on Friday. Senior forward Adam Markowitz scored a goal and added an assist, and junior forward Omar Sanchez, senior forward Israel Higuera and sophomore forward Alex Olszewski each scored goals. Westlake finished the week at 11-7-1 overall, 6-3 league.

The Warriors played the Royal Highlanders on Monday and the Moorpark Musketeers last night. They’ll be at Newbury Park to play the Panthers tomorrow at 5 p.m., then finish the regular Marmonte League season with two home games, on next Monday against the Calabasas Coyotes and on Wednesday against the Simi Valley Pioneers. Both are 6 p.m. games.

The California Interscholastic Federation Playoffs begin on Feb. 18 with the wildcard round. It will be followed by the first round on Feb. 20; the second round on Feb. 24; the quarterfinals on Feb. 26; the semifinals on March 2; and the CIF championship game on Sat., March 6.

Propster said that all teams in the league are going to play seven games in 14 days.

"We play Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Monday, Wednesday," he said. "(We have) to get ready to play every game. Every game matters."

Propster said the Warriors will continue to work hard.

"I like our midfielders," he said, while referring especially to sophomore Brian Jones.

Propster also mentioned several others. "Higuera created opportunities, he’s a great player," the Westlake coach said. "(Senior defender) Justin Barmasse and (junior midfielder) Kyle Dagan have made a difference for us. He didn’t play, basically, the first half of the season.

"He didn’t play the first time we played Thousand Oaks and it makes a difference. He can win balls in the midfield. He can hold it a little bit and create, so he’s helped us."