Although the Culver City High School boys soccer team had two more games, their 8-0 record is good enough for the Centaurs to be Ocean League champions.
Winning the league with two games to play shows how dominant they have been. They are 17-5 for the season.
The Centaurs’ final league game is Thursday evening at 6 against Beverly Hills at Jerry Chabola Stadium on the Culver City campus.
This senior-heavy team has been impressive from the beginning.
Defense has been outstanding. When the Centaurs have the ball, they know how to score enough points to win close games. The Centaurs have scored 49 goals and given up just 17.
They are riding a 10-game winning streak dating back to Dec. 22.
“We talk to these kids and we grind them every day,” said Coach Louie Espeleta.
“Thirteen of our 25 players are seniors. But our starting lineup consists of several juniors, and we have an outstanding freshman in Curtis Collazos.”
Coach Espeleta is looking forward to the CIF Division 4 playoffs next week.
“Because we are the league champs,” he said, “we should get a higher seed.
“We hoping to get to at least the third round. If we make it past the first and second rounds, that would be a huge accomplishment. It’s been over 10 years since Culver City has made it past the second round.”
The Girls’ Record
The girls soccer team, coached by Elizabeth Cveyich, is 7-1, good for second place in the Ocean League.
At 12-6 overall, the last league game before the playoffs is at Beverly Hills on Thursday at 3 o’clock.
The second-place girls basketball team, coached by Julian Anderson, is 16-7 overall and 6-2 in the Ocean League. Their last league game will be at home Thursday evening at 6 against Beverly Hills.
The third-place boys basketball team is 5-3, and 10-15 for the season.
The boys will have to wait until after the regular season is over before finding out if they qualify for the CIF playoffs.
Adam Eskridge’s closes out its schedule at home Thursday evening at 7:30 against Beverly Hills.
Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com
Mr. Laase may be contacted at gmlaase@aol.com