BOYS SOCCER: Woodside Ousted by Serra

The Score: Serra 2, Woodside 0.

The Star: Woodside High’s Octavio Perez delivered a strong performance in his team’s season-ending defeat in the opening round of the Central Coast Section playoffs. The junior forward/midfielder had some threatening shots in the first half and helped facilitate the visiting Wildcats’ second-half surge on Wednesday afternoon.

The Turning Point: Eighth-seeded Serra’s second goal put No. 9 seed Woodside (10-6-4) in too big a hole to climb out of. Eduardo Velado fired an indirect kick into the box and Dylan Shafe beat Woodside goalie Brian Lopez to the ball and clipped it in – much to his own surprise -- in the 32^nd minute. Padres coach Jeff Panos couldn’t remember the last time his team enjoyed a 2-0 lead, an advantage the hosts confidently protected to advance to the Division I quarterfinals for the third straight year.

The Quote: “We think we’ve got a lot of chemistry going for next year. We’re confident for next year. It feels good not to just have seniors but to have a lot of underclassmen stepping up to this level. … It was a very successful year for us. We didn’t expect to make CCS in the beginning.” – Woodside junior defensive center midfielder Bryan Torres.

What’s Next? Woodside’s season is over. Serra (10-8-5) advances to meet No. 1 seed Bellarmine, its West Catholic Athletic League nemesis, in the quarterfinals for the third year in a row. The Bells (15-3-5) advanced via penalty kicks in 2009 and Serra prevailed last year.

The Bottom Line: Battle-tested Serra, No. 2 in , took care of business on its home turf against seventh-ranked Woodside, a talented but youthful opponent. The Wildcats had been peaking heading into the postseason – bypassing Sequoia and Carlmont down the stretch to finish an impressive third in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Bay Division, but appeared a bit unsure of themselves in their playoff opener. Despite the early ouster, the future looks extremely bright for Woodside. First-year coach Michael Bustos will return most of the squad for the 2011-12 campaign – including three freshmen who started Wednesday.

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Serra 2, Woodside 0

At Serra

Scoring: S: Peardon (Shafe) 16:00, S: Shafe (Velado) 32:00.

Records: Woodside 10-6-4. Serra 10-8-5.