Prep soccer: Winning efforts from all the local teams

There's still another game remaining in the regular-season but its safe to assume how the top three teams in the West Bay Athletic League boys soccer race will finish.

Sacred Heart Prep clinched at least a share of the title after beating host Harker, 3-0, on Monday. Menlo School clinched no worse than second after beating visiting Eastside Prep, 8-2, in combination with the Gators (16-0-2, 10-0-1) victory over the Eagles (13-4, 8-3).

 

 

All three teams will advance into the Central Coast Section tournament with divisions and opponents to be determined at Thursday's closed seeding meeting.

Sacred Heart Prep recorded its sixth consecutive shutout and ninth in 11 league matches. Only Menlo (once) and Harker (twice) scored against goalie Jacob Anderson and the Gators' defense.

SH Prep has outscored its WBAL opponents by a 42-3 margin and travels to play Crystal Springs Uplands at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday. The winless Gryphons have been outscored 54-11.

Against Harker, Kyle Nilsson, Liam Johnson and Matthew Kirkham each scored to keep Sacred Heart Prep at the top of the class. 

The Gators' lone smudge on their league record is a scoreless tie with Menlo. SHP and host Palma also played to a scoreless tie in December.

It will likely get a little more difficult should the Gators be assigned to the Open Division. They did beat Sacred Heart Cathedral of the WCAL but the Irish will finish in the middle of the pack. Sty. Ignatius clinched the WCAL title heading into Tuesday's finales. Bellarmine and St. Francis will also finish ahead of SHC.

 

Menlo dethroned reigning West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division champion Notre Dame Belmont, which lost at Priory, 3-2, and placed second. Priory finishes third. All three earned automatic bids into the CCS tournament.

Sacred Heart Prep, which beat visiting The King's Academy 3-0, clinched the fourth spot and travels to WBAL Skyline champion Crystal Springs Uplands for a CCS play-in match at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Both teams will likely find a spot in the tournament, as will Castilleja, a 2-1 winner over Harker, in the expanded CCS soccer brackets.

Senior Caitlin Carcione made it a special Senior Day with a pair of goals to lead the Gators (8-5-6, 3-4-3) past TKA. Junior Sasha Bellack and freshman Ellie Brew recorded the assists. Sophomore Juliana Rosen also scored, with an assist from junior Nikki Molumphy.

In addition to Carcione, seniors Caitlyn Perkocha, Ingrid Corrigan, Kristine Fischer-Colbrie and Amaia Minkowski were also honored.