Panthers get past Coyotes in playoff soccer

Acorn Sports Writer


The Calabasas boys’ soccer team was defeated, 2-0, in the first round of the playoffs by future Marmonte League foe Newbury Park (19-3-4) in a game played at Calabasas (16-7-2) last Friday.


The Coyotes had finished first in the Frontier League, thus earning a bye last Wednesday. The Panthers of Newbury Park had to win a wildcard game last week before playing Calabasas in first round.


But Newbury Park didn’t look like a third-place team in the contest vs. the Coyotes. Instead, the Panthers put an abrupt halt to Calabasas’ 16-game (tying a school record) unbeaten streak.


"We were hoping to go farther, obviously," said a disheartened Danny Barth, one of only three seniors on a roster of 22 and the leading scorer for Calabasas this year. "But we got a good team in the first round."


And that was bad luck for the Coyotes, who will see more of Newbury Park next year when CHS joins the Marmonte League, something Newbury Park coach Guy Sanford knows will only bolster the league even more.


"They’re a quality team," Sanford said of Calabasas. "They had weapons and they’re young. Most of my team’s moving on, but this team’s going to be tough to beat next year. We’re not going to have the horses that we had this year and they’re going to have them, so that’s huge.


"They’re going to be a contender in our league, I think," Sanford added.


Calabasas long-time coach John Reich was disappointed with how Newbury Park scored its first goal, but not with the output of his players all season.


"It’s always unfortunate when a referee’s call essentially decides the game," Reich said in reference to Michael Falcone’s penalty kick after a foul was called relatively close to the Calabasas goal 16 minutes into the second half.


"What that did is forced us to change formations," said Reich, who noted that Jon Krupansky’s Newbury Park second-goal with 10 minutes left may not have occurred if the Coyotes hadn’t changed their strategy attempting to tie the score at one.


The Calabasas coach said he knew his team had its opportunities to tie the game. "We had our chances in the second half," he said. "We had two good ones but couldn’t capitalize."


Still despite the loss, Reich said, his players would soon value the stellar season they had.


"I think the kids will appreciate it in a few days," he said. "The kids will be happy with the season once the pain wears off."


Reich had reason to be optimistic, despite the early postseason ouster.


"On the positive side," he said, "the kids played well enough to be competitive and it’s a good introduction for us to Marmonte League soccer." The Coyote coach will definitely miss Barth, the veteran leader.


"He’s one of the quickest kids I’ve ever seen," Reich said. "And one of the easiest to coach. He just really worked and worked and worked, he kept listening and would try everything we asked."





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