Top three girls soccer seeds advance to CIF Open Division semi-finals (by Ken Grosse)

Post date: Feb 22, 2020 11:59:51 PM

At halftime of Wednesday’s CIF Girls’ Soccer Open Division quarterfinal, No. 1 seeded Cathedral Catholic had a 1-0 lead over visiting eighth seed San Marcos but Dons’ Head Coach Dawn Lee, owner of over 400 career wins and eight section titles, was not satisfied with what she’d seen in the first 40 minutes.

Her halftime talk, centered around the concepts of the Dons’ playing their “own controlled game” and not the “frantic” style that San Marcos had lured them into. Several minutes in, the discourse was interrupted by a handful of players noisily scattering to evade an errant bee that had invaded the huddle and landed near where they were sitting. Without saying a word, Lee pulled out a folded piece of paper, calmly walked over to the grounded insect, scooped it up and deposited it about 10 yards away (not wanting to harm a species key to the environment). When she returned to the group, she picked up the second half messaging without skipping a beat.

The modern renaissance coach—winning games, providing examples and saving the planet, all in one fell swoop. OK, maybe a little dramatic, but points were clearly made as Cathedral came out for the second half in a much more organized, purposeful fashion, dictating the run of play, scoring a second goal and easing to a 2-1 victory that puts them in next Tuesday’s semi-final against (Feb. 25) fifth-seeded Eastlake, a 3-1 winner over No. 4 La Costa Canyon.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 seed and defending CIF Open champion Carlsbad began its title defense in smooth fashion, turning away seventh seed Del Norte, 3-1. The Lancers will square off against third-seeded Torrey Pines in the semis in what will be the third meeting of the two Avocado West League rivals this season (Carlsbad holds a 2-1 edge). The Falcons, twice the Open champion since the elite division was formed in 2014, earned their ticket to the second round by whitewashing No. 6 Poway, 1-0. (more)