Sports
BOYS SOCCER: Santa Cruz Steamrolls into CCS Semis
Cardinals light up Gonzales in Saturday's quarterfinal round.
The 2010-11 Santa Cruz High boys soccer team has that look.
Central Coast Section Boys Soccer Division III champions a year ago, this year’s edition of the Santa Cruz High boys soccer team might even be better than the latter.
Averaging four goals a game during an impressive 14-5-1 season in 2010-11, the Cardinals opened CCS playoff action on Saturday with a 5-0 victory over Gonzales in the quarters.
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Santa Cruz, the No. 1 seed in the D-III bracket, was dominant from the start.
Two early goals were called off due to offsides calls in the first 10 minutes before Santa Cruz got on the board in the 17th minute.
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Junior Juanito Aguilar scored off a nice steal and dish from all-world junior striker John Chronopoulos to start the fun for the top seed.
“He’s as good of a passer as he is a goal scorer,” Santa Cruz head coach Semih Sabankaya said about Chronopoulos. “We had full control of the game. They ( Gonzales) got tired after the first 20 minutes. We were able to create a lot of chances and continue to score goals. We’re averaging four goals a game this season.”
Chronopoulos scored once on Saturday, adding to his gaudy season scoring total. He now has 32 goals and has dished out 17 assists on the year.
“I heard that someone that played in our league scored 34 goals back in the ‘80s,” Sebankaya said in response to the question on whether the staggering goal numbers was a school or league record. “He might not get that record, but no one has ever scored 100 goals in a four-year career. He’ll need to score around 30 goals next year to hit 100. That would be something special.”
Santa Cruz led 2-0 at the half, then pulled away for good in the final 40 minutes.
Freshman Jaia Young scored in the 45th minute, followed by a goal from junior Giovanni Giattino three minutes later.
Next up for the Cardinals is a meeting with Sacred Heart Cathedral on Wednesday night at Gilroy High with a start time scheduled for 7 pm.
The game is a rematch of the D-III title game from a year ago.
“We are ready for the challenge,” Sebankaya said. “Every team is strong when you get to this time of the year.”
No. 10 seed Soquel High will play Live Oak High-Morgan Hill in the other semifinal Wednesday night.
The finals will take place on Saturday at Gilroy High.
