CAMPBELL — Westmont’s boys soccer team came out Wednesday night intent on making a statement against Mt. Pleasant in a clash of league leaders in the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Mt. Hamilton Division.
The Warriors couldn’t have imagined how well that statement would resonate. They dominated both halves, scoring a hat trick’s worth of goals in each to win 6-0.
With the victory, Westmont improved to 3-0 in league play, firmly establishing itself as the class of the Mt. Hamilton.
“I knew my boys could go in and win the game,” Westmont coach Matt Schembri said. “Mt. Pleasant’s had a great start to the season, and they played really well. But our boys stepped up tonight.
“I challenged them a little bit and said, ‘We could send a message tonight.’ And did I think it’d be a 6-0 message? No. But I’m proud of the boys and the way they handled themselves and the way they saw the game out. Just thoroughly impressed by them tonight.”
Westmont (6-2, 3-0 BVAL) got on the board first with a pair of goals by Sebastien Aranda within the first 17 minutes of play. The Warriors added to their lead before the half when Kota Brown poked in a loose ball off a corner kick, putting Westmont up three at the break.
“Our chemistry overall, we have a really good set of players,” Aranda said. “We were able to move the ball around, and we were able to be clinical in the final third.”
For Mt. Pleasant (7-2-1, 2-1-1 BVAL), the challenge moving forward will be to ensure that this was a one-off result, not one that will bleed into future practices and games.
“Before today, we were a team,” coach Manuel Quintana said. “We worked together. We were always in a good mood. Today, my team didn’t show up. It’s a little hard to take, this loss. We want to have a conversation tomorrow going over the lows and highs of today.
“There were positives. Even in the negative results, there are always positives. You learn. There are always bumps, but they have to move on. They have to let go, so we can actually continue doing what we’re supposed to do.”
Westmont wouldn’t mind if it just kept right on rolling along.
“This is important for the rest of the league and for CCS to know that we’re here to come and take everything,” Aranda said.
More boys soccer
Aragon 4, South San Francisco 1
Aragon picked up its sixth win of the season and first in league play at home on Wednesday. Emilio Jimenez scored the lone goal for South City, with Marcos Guzman assisting.
Menlo School 1, Harker 0
Menlo improved to 6-2-2 overall and 4-0 in West Bay Athletic League play with a shutout of Harker on the road. Senior Gabriel Gil scored for the Knights, and junior keeper Dylan O’Malley stopped four shots on goal.
No. 6 Clayton Valley Charter 3, Campolindo 2
Top-10 Clayton Valley edged out the Cougars in a tight battle between Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division teams on Tuesday in Concord. Brandon Hristov, Riley Gary and Giovanni Negrete scored for Clayton in the win. Sean Mungunshagai found the back of the net for Campo, and the Cougars notched their other score on an own goal by the Ugly Eagles.
Girls soccer
Overfelt 1, Del Mar 0
Overfelt knocked off Del Mar in a battle of San Jose schools on Tuesday. The match “could have gone either way,” according to Del Mar coach Arturo Castañeda. Del Mar’s young squad picked up its second win of the season last Thursday against Yerba Buena, as freshman junior varsity call-up Estefany Guerra scored her first career varsity goal to give the Dons the win.
Granada 1, Monte Vista 1
The two East Bay schools played to a hotly contested tie on Tuesday in Livermore. Granada remained unbeaten at 6-0-5 this season. Junior Elle Eichenberger scored the lone goal for the Matadors and leads Granada with six goals this season. Monte Vista’s goal was the first Granada has conceded all season. Captains Harper Hopcus and Maddie Contreras have anchored Granada’s backline this year. The Mats take on Amador Valley on Thursday in another East Bay Athletic League matchup.
Milpitas 7, Wilcox 1
Milpitas put forth a dominant offensive display to take down Wilcox on Monday. Jayden Hernandez and Leia Lorente both scored two goals for the Trojans. Jazlyn Bagunas, Sarra Yadav and Natalia Cheadle each scored one goal for Milpitas. “We created many chances to score with crosses and passes,” Trojans coach James Sampson said.
Boys basketball
Mt. Pleasant 53, Sobrato 46
The Cardinals picked up a tight win over Sobrato on Wednesday night in San Jose. Mt. Pleasant employed balanced scoring. Sophomore Mauricio Heredia led with 17 points, junior Jordan Flagg added 15 and freshman Derrick Norfleet chipped in 11.
Campolindo 58, Ygnacio Valley 45
The Cougars took down an East Bay rival to improve to 13-4 this season and a perfect 4-0 in DAL play. Senior guard Gavin Rendle led Campo with 23 points, supplemented by senior forward Luke Devine (14) and senior guard Ren Marchetti (10).
Girls basketball
Berean Christian 47, College Park 32
Jadee Salvador led the way for Berean Christian in its big win. The 5-foot-6 senior point guard scored 28 points and added nine rebounds, five assists, eight steals and three blocks.
Carlmont 56, Aragon 46
Senior Willow Ishibashi-To led all scorers with 18 points and scored her 1,000 career point to lead Carlmont to a double-digit victory. Ishibashi, a point guard, has played on varsity all four years of her high school career.
