San Marcos boys soccer was not impacted by the long road trip to Victorville, rolling to a 4-0 road victory over Silverado in their CIF-SS Div. 5 playoff opener on Wednesday.
The Royals will return home to take on Golden Valley in the second round on Friday at 5 p.m. at Warkentin Stadium.
“Every player who came in the game kept our level high. It was a fantastic team win to get us started in the playoffs,” San Marcos head coach Paul McLean said.
San Marcos opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Sergio Ramirez beat his defender and crossed it into Luis Campos, who slotted his shot into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
Later in the first half, Campos curled a ball into the box and Yael Solano rose up for the header to double the advantage to 2-0. That lead held into halftime as the San Marcos defense maintained the shutout.
The Royals stayed hot in the second half when Ricky Olivo played a ball to Solano, who beat the goalkeeper on a 1-on-1 to bring the lead to 3-0.
San Marcos rounded out the scoring when Campos completed his brace with a penalty-kick goal for the 4-0 victory.
“Silverado has a strong back line with an excellent goalkeeper,” McLean said. “They did a good job putting us under pressure with their direct balls over the top. Luis Campos and Yael Solano were creative and sharp on the offensive side and had a brace each as reward for their work.
“Axel Martinez was outstanding, breaking up plays and starting our offense all night. Our back line, led by Abraham Jimenez, Rover Ojendis and Wes Monroy were organized and passed the ball really well.”
Laguna Blanca 2, Covina 0 (Div. 7)
The Owls earned a shutout road win over Covina in their first game of the CIF-SS Div. 7 playoffs on Wednesday.
Laguna Blanca will remain on the road to take on Polytechnic High on Friday at 3 p.m. in Pasadena.
Baylor Wilson broke the scoreless tie just 10 minutes into the match when he finished off an assist from Isaac Duron-Angeles.
The second and final goal of the match came 10 minutes later when Wilson dished off a pass to Inak Phillips, who rocketed his shot into the back of the net.
The 2-0 Owl lead held until the final whistle sounded thanks to a strong defensive performance from the back line of Finlay Sutherland, Jacopo Sutherland, Niccolo D’Agruma and Beckett Smythe.
Meanwhile, Laguna Blanca goalkeeper Enzo Vinoly came up with a clutch penalty-kick save in the second half to preserve the clean sheet.
Cate 5, Colton 2 (Div. 5)
The Rams went on the road and came away with a victory over Colton in the opening round of the CIF-SS Div. 5 playoffs on Wednesday.
Cate will remain on the road to take on Viewpoint in the second round on Friday in Calabasas.
Bishop Diego 12, Grove 1 (Div. 8)
The Cardinals dominated both ends of the pitch en route to the CIF-SS Div. 8 playoff-opening win over Grove on Wednesday in Santa Barbara.
Bishop Diego will remain at home to clash with Le Lycee on Friday, with the exact time to be determined.
Santa Paula 3, Carpinteria High 1 (Div. 4)
The Warriors dropped their CIF-SS playoff opener to Citrus Coast League foe Santa Paula on Wednesday.
Carpinteria High ends its campaign with an overall record of 10-7-2, including a third-place finish in the CCL.
No information was provided by Cate, Bishop Diego or Carpinteria High soccer.