The fifth-seeded Leigh boys soccer team survived a furious upset bid by No. 13 Westmont to advance on penalty kicks in a Central Coast Section Division II quarterfinal playoff matchup Saturday morning at Pioneer. Leigh advances to the semifinals to take on second-ranked and top-seeded Archbishop Mitty, a 2-0 winner over Santa Clara Wednesday night (7:00 pm) at Pioneer.
The match was tied 2-2 after regulation and overtime before the Longhorns (12-7-4) prevailed 5-3 on penalty kicks over the Warriors (14-4-3).
Senior goalkeeper Robbie Cabri stopped Westmont's first attempt during the penalty-kick shootout with a dive to his right and all five Leigh shooters - Naveed Ettefagh, Andrew Frias, Logan McNerney, Salem Lee and Tyler Neinhaus - converted to seal the win. Marco Bravo, Guillermo Guzman and Vicente Pacheco scored from the spot for Westmont, but it was not enough.
Leigh took the lead twice during regulation, but both times Westmont answered within a matter of minutes. The Longhorns scored first in the 22nd minute when Lee got loose down the right side and pulled back a cross for McNerney, who slammed it into the roof of the net from about 10 yards out to make it 1-0.
However, Westmont answered just two minutes later as a long throw-in by junior Christoph Skoff was knocked into the goal by a Leigh defender to make it 1-1. That remained the score at halftime.
Facing a slight but influential wind in the second half, Westmont appeared to go into a defensive shell as Leigh pressed into Warrior territory for most of the half. Skoff did an outstanding job repelling one Longhorn attack after another, but Leigh was able to break through in the 69th minute.
Frias, the sensational junior midfielder, dribbled to the byline on the right side and sent in a low, hard cross that Trevor Kaefer tapped in from a few yards out to make it 2-1.
But once again, the lead was short-lived as Westmont struck back a couple of minutes later. Senior outside midfielder Jeff Sun got free down the left side and hit a low cross into the box that was flicked in by Pacheco past the onrushing Cabri to make it 2-2 in the 71st minute.
Neither team seriously threatened through the rest of regulation and overtime, although Leigh did introduce injured star midfielder Josue Mendoza, a St. Mary's commit, for the final few minutes of regulation in an attempt to nab a late victory. Mendoza did not appear to be at full strength during his brief stint and his status for the semifinal is uncertain for Wednesday's semifinal against Mitty.
Leigh also played most of the match without star center back Brian Sweeney, who appeared to strain his hamstring late in the first half while chasing down Pacheco to thwart a Westmont scoring attempt. Sweeney's status is also uncertain for Wednesday. Sophomore Justin Norcia, a sophomore callup from the Leigh frosh-soph team, did an outstanding job filling in for Sweeney.
