For the better part of the past half-decade, especially at this time of the season, the LEE High School boys soccer team’s course was usually mapped out.

The Volunteers, often with a district title in hand, would be gearing up for an expected deep postseason run. While the goal for this season remains the same, the path to reach it is filled with obstacles. One of them was cleared on Friday.

LEE rode a big second-half performance to a 4-1 win vs. Madison in a crucial District 28-6A contest at Blossom Athletic Center.

The Volunteers (13-8 overall, 8-6 in league play) kept alive their playoff hopes. They are in fifth place in 28-6A, two points behind Reagan (9-5-6, 7-2-5) and four points behind Madison (12-7-1, 9-5-1) with two district games remaining.

“Mathematically, we stayed alive,” LEE coach David Rogers said. “We’re probably still going to need to get some help. We’ve just got to approach one game at a time.”

LEE tallied three goals in the match’s final 16 1/2 minutes to snap a 1-1 tie. Adiel Ibarra scored the game-winner in the 64th minute, Martin Cruz added a goal in the 69th and Angel Villasana notched the final score with 24 seconds left.
Villasana’s goal could provide the Volunteers a key tiebreaker if they and Madison finished tied.

“I felt like we haven’t played our best soccer yet,” said Rogers, whose squad closes the regular season vs. district champion Johnson on Tuesday and Churchill on March 19. “I feel like if we can just get a ticket to the dance, anything can happen.”

Madison, which is seeking its first playoff berth since 2001 and needs a win or a loss by LEE to secure it, pulled even at 1-1 when Dylan Mendoza converted on a penalty kick after a handball inside the penalty area with nine minutes left in the opening half. The goal came five minutes after LEE grabbed a 1-0 advantage on a goal from Jose Coronado.

Girls
LEE 1, Madison 0: Freshman midfielder Jana Morris’ first-half goal stood up as the Volunteers notched an important victory.

Both teams locked up playoff berths, but the outcome of this encounter carried crucial playoff seeding ramifications. LEE (13-5-3 overall, 9-3-2 in district) moved into third place in 28-6A and needs a win in one of its final two games vs. Johnson on Tuesday and Churchill on March 19 to maintain the spot.

Madison (13-5-3, 9-4-2) concludes the regular season vs. district champion Johnson on March 19.

In a game played with the intensity to match its significance, LEE broke through in the 13th minute with the lone goal when Morris converted on teammate Abby Xin’s corner kick.

“We’ve been working a lot in practice on set plays and finishing our opportunities,” Morris said. “We just put it in.”

Mavericks had three prime scoring opportunities in the game’s final 8 1/2 minutes, but one attempt was saved, another was cleared away by a LEE defender, and the final shot sailed just right with 27 seconds remaining.

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1