NEWHALL- The Hart boys soccer team had its season come to an end Saturday night as it was defeated 1-0 by Loyola in the second leg of the CIF Southern Section Open Division semifinals and 2-0 over the two-leg aggregate.
“If there’s one world I could pick to describe how I feel about this team, it would be proud,” Hart coach Alex Bernal said. “The boys gave everything to each other, and I think I could leave with my head held high because they gave everything.”
Loyola (20-0-4) will look to get their sixth CIF soccer title when they take on JSerra or Santa Monica in the Open Division final.
Hart finished the season with a 16-4 record and went undefeated in the Foothill League to earn the league title.
The lone score in the match came in the 38th minute on a shot from distance from Loyola captain and midfielder Charlie McMillan.
“That was awesome,” McMillan said. “I looked up and the goalie was a little off his line, so I thought I had a good chance to score.”
Hart had two very strong scoring chances in the match with a free kick right outside the box in the 7th minute of the match and also a second-half penalty kick in the 54th minute. The free kick was taken by Alan Hernandez whose shot required a strong effort from Loyola goalie Christopher Stillwell to save it on the ground in the corner of the net.
The Hart penalty kick came from a Loyola handball inside the box. The penalty kick was taken by Diego Rodriguez and Stillwell dove to the right side to save it.
“I just stayed confident in my game and it felt great to stop those two shots,” Stillwell said.
Hart struggled with fouls in the match, having 11 fouls to Loyola’s four. Hart also was given three yellow cards in the match, including one given to an assistant coach.
Both teams had eight shots in the game with Stillwell saving five and Hart goalie Marco Gonzalez saving four.
Rodriguez had three shots and Josh Gallagher had three shots for Loyola.
Gallagher scored the 80th-minute winner for Loyola in the first leg against Hart on Wednesday.
“Our defense has been outstanding for us all year long,” Loyola coach Chris Walter said. “Christopher has been huge for us especially in the playoffs. We had to play our best tonight against a Hart team who’s outstanding, they move the ball around really, really well.”