NCS playoff roundup: Montgomery boys, girls win in soccer

The top-seeded Mongomery boys soccer team dominated eighth-seeded Maria Carrillo 6-0 at Santa Rosa High School in the North Coast Section Division 2 tournament Saturday.

The game was basically decided in the first minutes. Montgomery immediately saw an advantage they could expose, and within the first two minutes the Vikings led 2-0.

“That's the type of start you dream of in a playoff game. We capitalized on our first two really good chances. Whenever that happens, you're able to get some really good momentum,” Montgomery coach Jonathan Schwan said.

It was a definitive team win for Montgomery, which had six goals scored by five different players - including Oswaldo Rojas, who had two goals. Zach Batchelder, Kevin Welch, Calvin Perkins and Oscar Roque each scored as well.

“I' m really proud of how the guys played collectively you know as a team. There wasn't any one factor ... 4-0 at halftime, 6-0 final, kind of a game we've been looking for,” Schwan said.

In girls soccer:

Montgomery 3, Bishop O' Dowd 1

Midway through the first half, the Vikings scored their first goal when Micky Rosenbaum connected a well-placed shot into the corner of the net off an assist from Boston Girman.

“We came out strong right from the start and kept putting pressure on them. We got some very good opportunities early on in the game and we kept going. And (Micky) had a great game overall and really dominated midfield,” Montgomery coach Pat McDonald said.

The pivotal moment for the Vikings came on their second goal. After taking Girman out of the box with 14 minutes left in the first half, Cindy Arteaga scored for the Vikings on a penalty kick.

“That put us up 2-0 and we were very confident from then on,” McDonald said.

Arteaga also had an assist on a third goal that Abria Brooker scored to put the game away in the second half.

A key factor in the win for Montgomery was also its defense that played strong all night, only allowing a few good shots on goal, McDonald said. The Vikings gave up a goal late with about three minutes left but were solid generally all game.

“Christina Cawood, our centerback, had a great game defensively and led the defense, too - just playing a really solid game and kept the offenses at bay,” McDonald said.

Cardinal Newman 4, University 0

The Cardinals defeated their opponent by forcing them to run. They relied on good ball control and tried to tire University out in order to take advantage later.

For the first 20 minutes it was tense, as Cardinal Newman felt pressure as the top seed not to lose and go home. But about 25 minutes into the game, Newman scored and was able to stay calm after that.

“You're in the playoffs and for one of us, the season's over and emotions get high and teams work through that until they get broken down, so you play with a lot of emotion. I think once we scored, then we relaxed,” Cardinals coach John Gilson said.

The rest of the game the Cardinals simply just outran University.

“They couldn't stay with the pace and we kind of broke them down from there. I thought the whole team played really well from one player to the next - we just didn't have any holes tonight,” Gilson said.

The Cardinals picked their spots and scored three goals in the second half to cruise to victory.

Branson 4, Sonoma Academy 1

The 10th-seeded Coyotes and the second-seeded Bulls were tied 1-1 with about 18 minutes left in the Division 4 playoff game in Ross. But as Sonoma began to tire, Branson took advantage and scored back-to-back goals in about four minutes.

“At that point we pushed on, trying to find our way back into the game and they got a fourth goal,” Sonoma Academy coach Chis Ziemer said. “It didn't feel like a 4-1 loss - I mean obviously it did on the scoreboard, but given that it was 1-1 after about 60 minutes, it just felt like a game that we competed and battled in and it slipped away towards the end, but I was very proud of our girls and their effort.”

This loss for the Coyotes (8-11-3, 2-8-2) comes on the heels of a 3-1 win over seventh-seeded Marin Catholic in the first round of the North Coast Section tournament.

“We had a real hard-fought battle on Wednesday over Marin Catholic in difficult conditions and I think that sort of caught up with us,” Ziemer said.

Quoya Mann scored the lone goal for Sonoma Academy on Saturday.

In boys basketball:

Piedmont 55, Healdsburg 28

After two dominating performances in the first couple of rounds of the North Coast Section Division 4 playoffs, the fifth-seeded Greyhounds fell in the quarterfinals to an impressive defensive showing by the fourth-seeded Highlanders.

All season long, Healdsburg (21-7, 8-2) prided itself and depended on its defensive prowess along with the play of the 'Hounds talented big man Trey Chapman. But in their final game of the season, it was their opponent who came out on top, especially on the defense end.