Sunny Hills boys soccer team looks to complete the mission with a CIF title

Sunny Hills players gather for a team photo after a quarterfinal round win. (Photos courtesy Jim McCormack, For OC Sports Zone).

For both teams in the CIF Division 3 championship match at Ramona High School Saturday night, the crucial segments on the field are the 18-yard boxes in front of each goal.

“We call it ‘doing the dishes’” says Sunny Hills Coach Mike Schade whose Lancers will face Norte Vista of Riverside in the 5 p.m. match.

“Everyone likes to eat Thanksgiving dinner,” Schade says, continuing his analogy. “But no one wants to do the dishes. But that’s where the work has to be done, first on defense then on offense.”

Schade sees both clubs as similar in their approach to doing the dishes.  Both rely on a solid back four. For Norte Vista that foursome consists of Freddy Hernandez, Frank Valladares, Angel Rios and Christian Payan. Sunny Hills depends on the equally formidable foursome of Jerry Mejia, Anthony Noria, Dillon Dohan and Michael Franco.

To see more pictures, click on the first photo:

Sunny Hills backfour have played a key role in Sunny Hills’ resurgence this year. Players, from left, Dillon Dohan(3), Jerry Mejia (4), Michael Franco (17) and Anthony Mejia.

Sunny Hills’ goalie Logan Williams and the Lancer defense have allowed only two goals in four playoff games and Williams had two critical penalty kick saves in quarterfinal win over Palmdale.

Both teams enter Saturday’s match with some unfinished business. Norte Vista is back in the finals for the second year in a row, still smarting from 1-0 losses to Salesian (twice) in the CIF title game and then again in the SoCal Regional championship match.

Sunny Hills missed the playoffs last year for the first time in any of its players’ lifetimes, ending a streak of 20 seasons. The Lancers finished fifth in the 6-team Freeway League and out of the playoffs.

“We had some injuries,” Schade said, “and we didn’t play that badly. We just couldn’t win a match.”

That frustration has provided much of the motivation for this year. The Lancers tied Fullerton for the Freeway League title, each going 9-1. The Lancers are 17-3-4 on the season and have won 13 of their last 14 matches despite having scored more than two goals in one match. Behind solid defense in front of a very capable goalie, Logan Williams, the Lancers have allowed only two goals in four playoff matches, defeating Canyon, Santiago Garden Grove, Palmdale and Valley View of Moreno Valley.

Clearly one of the best teams in the playoffs, Norte Vista entered the post season as a 16-seed because, by rule, as a third-place team, it had to be given a low seed. Notre Vista finished third in league although it lost only once, but played to four ties.

Norte Vista’s run through the playoffs has consisted in wins over Leuzinger, Ayala, Los Amigos and third-seeded South Torrance, 3-0. Entering the match, South Torrance had yielded only 14 goals in 21 matches.

Ramona High School is located at 7675 Magnolia Ave, Riverside 92504. Tickets must be purchased in advance at the GOFAN app. General admission is $12 and students $5.

—Courtesy Jim McCormack, For OC Sports Zone