SAN DIEGO – After more than 80 minutes of hard-fought, physical soccer, and with a 2-1 lead, Point Loma’s No. 10-seeded boys soccer team knew they were mere seconds away from yet another CIF championship.
The final seconds of injury time ticked, and they awaited the referee’s final whistle.
But then, during a chaotic scrum in front of the Pointer goal, play was whistled dead, and players from Hilltop High became excited.
It seems one of the two assistant referees on the sidelines felt he observed a handball violation on a Pointer player in the box. Normally, assistants run up and down the sidelines and point a flag to indicate possession on balls out of bounds. But this assistant halted play as Pointer players and fans wondered what could be wrong.
All five referees (there are normally three) huddled at midfield before awarding Hilltop a penalty kick. As stunned Pointer players and coaches watched in disbelief, a Hilltop player blasted the ball into the net, setting off an explosion of cheering and celebrating from the No. 5-seeded Lancer players and fans alike.
When the ball was placed at center field and kicked off, the referee immediately blew his whistle to signal the end of regulation play, indicating the questionable call by his assistant came with only about 20 seconds to play.
After 15 minutes of sudden death overtime, the teams remained tied and, by CIF rules, the final score was 2-2 with the game going to a shootout (five rounds of penalty kicks). This is an unfortunate way of determining a winner after nearly 100 minutes of intense competition.
The Lancers prevailed 4-1 to be crowned Div. I champions.
Earlier, in the 29th minute, Pointer junior Hensel Munoz netted a tying goal from heavy traffic in front of the net.
Four minutes into the second half, Point Loma sophomore Neo Bilic’s header gave his team the lead they held until the assistant referee’s interjection.
To reach the finals, the Pointers defeated Rancho Buena Vista (0-0 in penalty kicks), Mission Hills, and Calexico (each 3-1).
“I thought we were the better team in each playoff game,” said Elliott Savitz, who has guided PLHS teams to seven CIF finals, winning four of them. “And I thought we were the better team most of today. I don’t know if I’ve lost in a more brutal fashion.”
Girls basketball
Santana 52, Point Loma 43
The No. 5-seeded Pointer girls saw their season end at home last week, losing a high-energy CIF Div. IV semi-final game to the eventual champion and No. 9 seed Santana High.
The Pointers started slowly against the Sultans, falling behind 14-7 in the first quarter. But the Pointers made adjustments and played evenly after that. One of those adjustments was to put a full-court press on the Sultans in the second half that resulted in steals and baskets for the Pointers.
Pointer sophomore River Hargett drives to the basket to score two points during her team’s CIF Div. IV semifinal game. (Photo by Scott Hopkins/Special for Times of San Diego)Several times, the Sultans beat the press for easy baskets, but the Pointers never showed signs of letting up. With 54.1 seconds to play, they were within six at 48-42. But free throws by the Sultans sealed their fate.
Head coach Michelle Mannisto was pleased with her team’s play over the year and excited for their future.
“We start two freshmen (guards Landry O’Connor and Magnolia Conquest) and a sophomore (guard/forward River Hargett), plus three juniors who give us six top players coming back.”
Before the semi-final game, the Pointers defeated O’Farrell Charter 51-23, and El Camino 44-38 in playoff games.
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