IMPORTANT REMINDER: The state playoffs for soccer are next week, with divisions based on enrollment. The deadline to apply is today, with the Bishop Amat girls soccer team having the best shot of qualifying in Division II. All teams that reached the semi’s should file their paperwork with the CIF-State office and see what happens.

Let me explain it this way, Amat is wondering how in the heck it lost after living in Sultana’s final third and out-chancing them by a mile. Los Altos and Granite Hills traded punches in a game that could have gone either way, but that’s life in soccer, this game rewards finishing, not chances. Guess we gotta wait a whole year for the rematch. Baldwin Park going down against Salesian is a heartbreaker of gigantic proportions too, because you know how much it meant for them to get another shot at those guys. But we got Sierra Vista, the new kids on the block, the absolute surprise of the year playing for its first title. And then you got Mountain View, “The never underestimate the heart of a champion,” Vikings winning twice in sudden death, and again in penalty kicks to earn a shot at defending its title. Hey, 2 out of 5 aint so bad.

Bishop Amat’s Natalie Rivas (8) with April Juarez (10) and Chelsea Villegas (6) walks off the field as Sultana beat Bishop Amat 1-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham)

Mountain View game story: Three times the Mountain View High School boys soccer team reached the brink of elimination, and three times it had an answer. This time the Vikings needed more than overtime to beat Pasadena Poly, 4-3, on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie in the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 playoffs.

Sierra Vista game story: The Dons got goals from Daniella Flores and Beatriz Barrett and advanced to the CIF-Southern Section final for the first time with a 2-1 victory over visiting Alverno in a Division 7 semifinal on Tuesday.

Bishop Amat game story: The Bishop Amat High School girls soccer team was dominating visiting Sultana so thoroughly that it wasn’t a matter of if but when it would find the equalizer after giving up an early goal on a set piece that started on a throw-in. The Lancers waited anxiously, then nervously while peppering shots over the crossbar, missing near post, far post, and not connecting on what seemed like a handful of corner-kick opportunities – then it was over, the final whistle ending not just a game, but an undefeated season.

Los Altos game story: The last time the Los Altos High School girls soccer team made it to a CIF-Southern Section divisional final was 1993 – the year they won their last CIF-SS title.

Baldwin Park game story: The Baldwin Park High School boys soccer team’s dream rematch with Salesian turned into a nightmare in the final minutes of their CIF-Southern Section Division 5 semifinal showdown.

CIF-SS Girls Soccer Playoffs
Tuesday’s semifinals
Division 4
Sultana 1, Bishop Amat 0
Granite Hills 1, Los Altos 0
Division 7
Sierra Vista 2, Alverno 1

CIF-SS Boys Soccer
Tuesdays semifinals
Division 5
Salesian 3, Baldwin Park 2
Division 6
Mountain View 1, Pasadena Poly 1, Mountain View wins in PKs, 4-3