BOYS SOCCER: Surging Hillsdale Eyes Ocean Title

The Score: Hillsdale 3, Capuchino 1.

The Star: Hillsdale High's Andreas Lau put the visiting Knights in front immediately on Friday afternoon, using what he called a “high press” defense to gain possession with a tackle inside the box and punch the ball in to make it 1-0 in the fifth minute. The junior midfielder’s goal set the tone for a victory on Friday afternoon that keeps second-place Hillsdale in control of its own destiny in the three-team race for the Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division title.

The Turning Point: After a sequence of several threatening Hillsdale shots within a 10-minute span, the Knights finally cashed in with the least likely attempt of the bunch. Milton Pleitez fired a high-archer from at least 40 yards out on the left side, and the balloon-like shot landed beyond Capuchino goalie Christian Pascual’s reach inside the far post to give Hillsdale a 2-0 lead in the 24th minute.

The Quote: “It’s comforting, but it’s a little scary also because we don’t know what might happen down there. We’ve been talking about it at every practice, every game. … We have to win the last game.” – Hillsdale midfielder Andreas Lau, on what is shaping up to be the de facto PAL Ocean championship game against league-leading Half Moon Bay in Wednesday’s season finale.

What’s Next? The final week of the PAL Ocean season. Second-place Hillsdale hosts El Camino on Monday at 3 p.m. Then the Knights visit first-place Half Moon Bay on Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. The Cougars beat Jefferson 6-1 on Friday night.

The Bottom Line: Hillsdale has positioned itself to claim the PAL Ocean title and resulting bid to the Central Coast Section playoffs – but the Knights likely need to win their two remaining games to do so. Hillsdale visits Half Moon Bay on Wednesday in what – barring a big upset on Monday – will be an all-the-marbles finale. The teams tied 2-2 in their first meeting. If the Knights remain one point back of Half Moon Bay entering Wednesday, a draw won’t cut it this time. Hillsdale would need a win to vault the Cougars. Third-place San Mateo is lurking should either team trip up.

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Hillsdale 3, Capuchino 1

At Capuchino

Scoring: H: Lau 5:00, H: Pleitez 24:00, H: Golden (Garcia) 61:00, C: Velasquez (PK) 68:00.

Records: Hillsdale 12-4-2, 9-2-1 PAL Ocean. Capuchino 2-10-4, 2-6-4.