HS: Lotto Sport Showcase, Day 3 highlights

HS: Lotto Sport Showcase, Day 3 highlights
by Sheldon Shealer
December 10, 2016

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. – There’s something special in Ryan Flood’s size 9 1/2 left foot boot.

"I've been working on it since I was 3," he said. "I think [the power] comes from the snap of the leg."

Flood ripped a pair of left-footed goals then capped his hat trick by rolling a right-footer into the net in the closing minutes as resilient Corona del Sol (Ariz.) defeated Servite (Calif.), 5-3, in an action-packed Lotto Sport Western Showcase final Saturday night.

Corona del Sol (6-0) trailed 1-0 and 2-1, and the match was tied at 2 at halftime. Flood’s second strike gave the Aztecs the lead for good at 3-2.

"Were 6-7 games into the season, and still undefeated. We hope to keep going," said Flood, an uncommitted senior who scored an event-high five goals and was named tournament MVP.

"Hats off to No. 9 (Flood)," Servite coach Jon Spencer said. "He led his team to the win. When Servite scores three goals, we expect to win. We had a poor defensive showing, and we have to go work on it."

Prior to Saturday’s final, Servite (3-1) had allowed only one goal during the season.

Wilbert Valle gave Servite a 1-0 lead before Flood drew Corona del Sol even. Servite went ahead 2-1 on a goal by Devin Parker, but Corona again answered on a score from Emilio Echeviral, and the game was 2-2 at halftime. Fllod made it 3-2 and Josh Allison followed to make it 4-2. Asa Fuller netted his third goal of the tournament to pull Servite within one at 4-3, but Flood then capped the scoring.

Third-Place Match

Auburndale (Fla.) 2, Brophy Prep 1: Ducarmel Jennestin and Noah Sims scored in the final five minutes as Auburndale stunned Brophy Prep in a game marred by two red cards and a player taken from the stadium in a stretcher to a nearby hospital.

UC Santa Barbara commit Carter Clemmensen’s first-half goal staked Brophy to a 1-0 lead.

Midway through the second half, a pair of players got tangled up and when a punch flew, the red cards came out. Once the match went 10v10, the open space favored Auburndale and its speedy youngsters with Jennestin, a freshman, tying the game and Sims, a sophomore, scoring the winner with under 2 minutes left.

Fifth-Place Match

Hamilton (Ariz.) 2, Cathedral (Calif.) 1 (OT): Grand Canyon commit Joshua Drack struck a free kick from 30 yards out that beat the keeper and gave Hamilton a sudden-death victory over Cathedral. Drack ended up with both goals. His first score gave Hamilton a 1-0 lead. In the second half, Cathedral’s Manuel Garcia drew a penalty, which Lucas Holopainen converted to tie the match at 1.

"That felt good," Drack said of his game-winning shot. “But the win felt better.

Seventh-Place Match

Loyola (Calif.) 0, San Clemente (Calif.) 0: The offensive woes continued for both Loyola and San Clemente in a scoreless consolation match. San Clemente went 0-2-1 and did not score at the tournament, Loyola officially was 0-1-2 with one goal scored. San Clemente keeper Cameron Dickie made one key diving save to preserve the shutout. Loyola keeper Antonio Chavez-Borrelli, who has committed to Boston College, recorded his first shutout of the tournament.


Coaches All-Tournament Team

MVP: F Ryan Flood, Corona del Sol (Ariz.), Sr.

Man of the Match (Final): F Wilbert Valle, Servite (Calif.), Sr.

F Asa Fuller, Servite (Calif.), Sr.

F Ducarmel Jennestin, Auburndale (Fla.), Fr.

MF Joshua Drack, Hamilton (Ariz.), Sr.

MF Emilio Echeviral, Corona del Sol (Ariz.), Soph.

MF Manuel Garcia, Cathedral (Calif.), Sr.

MF Ian Penningroth, Hamilton (Ariz.), Jr.

MF Michael Saba, San Clemente (Calif.), Sr.

MF Jose Sosa, Servite (Calif.), Jr.

D Aidan Cuevas, Loyola (Calif.), Jr.

D Austin Delaney, Corona del Sol (Ariz.), Sr.

D Deric Hall, Brophy Prep (Ariz.), So.

D Caleb Maynard, Auburndale (Fla.), Sr.

D Corbin Mercado, Servite (Calif.), Jr.

D Tanner Pile, Corona del Sol (Ariz.), Sr.

TOP PERFORMERS

GK: Antonio Chavez Borrelli, Loyola (Calif.), Sr.: The Boston College commit was not tested often in a scoreless draw, yet did come up with one key save.

F Carter Clemmensen, Brophy Prep (Ariz.), Jr.: The UC Santa Barbara commit is very fluid, he makes the game look effortless. After not converting a couple chances early in the event, Clemmensen scored in the final match that gave Brophy a lead at the time.

GK Cameron Dickie, San Clemente (Calif.), Sr.: Dickie used his size and athletic ability to parry away Loyola’s best chance on goal Saturday. His coach said this was his best performance so far this season.

MF Joshua Drack, Hamilton (Ariz.), Sr.: When Drack has the ball inside the 30, he’s a threat to score. He netted both goals, the second a free kick from 30 yards out, to give Hamilton a victory over Cathedral.

MF: Emilio Echeviral, Corona del Sol (Ariz.), Soph.: Two goals in the tournament, both on quality headers. Echeviral was active in offensive end.

F: Ryan Flood, Corona del Sol (Ariz.), Sr.: Flood demonstrated that wicked left foot, scoring Corona del Sol’s first goal and then ripping a 35-yard free kick that required a big save from Servite’s keeper. In the second half, he added a second goal to put Corona del Sol in the lead for good, then capped the scoring with his third goal to snare the tournament MVP honors.

MF: Manuel Garcia, Cathedral (Calif.), Sr.: Garcia is back on the list for the third straight day. His effort drew the penalty that allowed Cathedral to pull even with Hamilton in the consolation final. Even after two hard games Thursday and Friday, Garcia found the energy to keep pressing for the Phantoms.

MF Luciano Gazcon, Loyola (Calif.), Sr.: Gazcon was the most active of Loyola’s attacking players, worked hard and created a few chances.

F: Ducarmel Jennestin, Auburndale (Fla.), Fr.: Like Manuel Garcia, Jennestin is on the list for the third straight day. He electrified the crowd and energized his teammates with a game-tying goal that sparked the Florida entry to a third-place finish.

D Blake Lynch, Hamilton (Ariz.), Sr.: Lynch was solid all weekend. On Saturday, his play helped limit Cathedral’s chances.

D Caleb Maynard, Auburndale (Fla.), Sr.: One of the best slide tackling defenders at the event, Maynard broke up several potential scoring chances for Brophy Prep.

D Corbin Mercado, Servite (Calif.), Jr.: Mercado again was a handful on defense and one of the few players able to play physical with Ryan Flood.

MF Michael Saba, San Clemente (Calif.), Sr.: Saba is a grinder, works hard and moves around the field. He was San Clemente’s most consisten player during the weekend.

MF Jose Sosa, Servite (Calif.), Jr.: The left-sided midfielder had a strong tournament, and was nearly an all-tournament selection.

F Wilbert Valle, Servite (Calif.), Sr.: Valle and Flood were the most dominant players on the field Saturday night. Valle started up top and scored the first goal of the match. When Servite needed help creating chances, Valle moved to the midfield – his natural position – and created problems for Corona del Sol.

Trending Videos
 
IMG Academy Top 150 Rankings
see full ranking:
Boys Girls