HART SOCCER TOURNAMENT : Camarillo to Stay for Final After Joining as Late Entry

The Camarillo High boys’ soccer team would have been home for the holidays had it not been for St. Bonaventure’s inability to field a team.

Camarillo Coach John Alfino received a phone call from Hart tournament officials Dec. 21 asking the Scorpions to fill the vacancy left after the Seraphs withdrew from the tournament.

After a 1-0 victory over Newbury Park in a semifinal match Thursday, Camarillo will play for the tournament championship against San Fernando today at 2 p.m.

“It’s kind of ironic,” Alfino said. “We weren’t in this thing a week ago and now we’re in the final.

“If we wind up winning this thing they might be sorry they let us in.”

Newbury Park, a Marmonte League rival of Camarillo, was not at full strength. The Panthers (8-3) had only nine of their 18 players, forcing Coach Ben Buttner to bring up six players from the junior varsity.

“Our whole defense has gone skiing,” Buttner said. ‘I think we can take Camarillo when we have the rest of our team.”

Camarillo (7-0) broke a scoreless tie with four minutes to play when left wing Chris Sampson took a head shot from six yards off Marcus Hanson’s crossing pass.

Sampson’s shot, just out of the reach of Newbury Park goalkeeper John Casarietti, found the upper-right corner of the net.

Newbury Park took just six shots on goal, and Buttner said in order for his team to score one or two goals in a match, it has to take about 20 shots.

In other matches:

San Fernando 2, Hart 1--Midfielder Marco Zanbrano scored with 10 minutes left to snap a 1-1 deadlock and lift the Tigers (7-0-2) into the tournament final.

Trailing, 1-0, at halftime, San Fernando tied the score, 1-1, in the second half on forward Fabian Galvan’s goal at the 15-minute mark. Striker David Rosales had scored with five minutes to play in the half to give Hart (4-1-1) a 1-0 lead.

San Fernando played a man short for most of the second half. Tereso Delgado received consecutive yellow cards--which constitutes a red card--and was ejected at the five-minute mark.

Harvard 2, Palmdale 1--The Falcons led, 1-0, at halftime but Harvard scored two goals in the first nine minutes of the second half in the fifth-place game.

Midfielder Scott Malin scored from 20 yards on a rebound shot to tie the score, 1-1, at the seven-minute mark. Two minutes later, midfielder Aristides Alberto, on an assist from Jerome Schwartz, put the Saracens (8-2-2) ahead to stay.

Canyon 3, Victor Valley 0--Forward Jeff Ferguson scored goals at the two- and 28-minute marks in the first half to pace the Cowboys (3-3) in a fifth-place semifinal.

Canyon goalkeeper Chris Littleford made 10 saves.

Alemany 1, Granada Hills 0--After playing to a 0-0 tie in regulation, fullback Marcus Bradley scored the winning goal in a shoot-out to lift the Indians (6-1-1) into the consolation championship against Quartz Hill.

Quartz Hill 1, Hollywood 0--Forward Bryon Richards scored in a shoot-out.