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EYES ON THE PRIZESan Clemente TritonsSeason: 29-2-1, 8-0 (first place in South Coast League)Goals scored: 94Goals allowed: 18Players to watch: Gage Zer boni (30 goals) and Blayne Martinez (21 goals) are the big guns up front for the Tritons, who also have scoring punch in the midfieid with Bryce Kaminski, Alek Cu-cuk and Oscar Hernandez. The backline is anchored by center defender Colin McDermott and sweeper Connor Tobia.Coach Michael Pronier's keys to victory: Our focus is going to have to be on how we break down their defense. We’re going to have to see what we can do to expose them defensively. I think, honestly, that if we play solid defense, from what I've seen of their scorers, that they will have a little trouble scoring, but you never know.99Servite FriarsSeason: 15-8-7, 4-2-4 (third place in Trinity League)Goals scored: 44Goals allowed: 31Players to watch: Servite’s senior midfield of Davis Brady, Michael Wolitski, Kevin Engesser and Joey Gob-er is the core of the team, Coach Jon Spencer said. Wolitski's eight goals lead the team, which has relied more on defensive prowess than a high-powered offense to reach the finals. Goalten-ders Jared Hemann and Keith Murphy have combined for 135 saves.Coach Jon Spencer's keys to victory: We just have to keep doing what we've been doing. Obviously, San Clemente's a very good team and they've been very successful all season. Consistency over time equals results and we're just hoping our team continues to be consistent in our game plan.Tritons vs. FriarsWhat: CIF Southern Section Division 1 boys soccer championship game When: 7:30 tonight Where: Corona High SchoolMIKE GREENE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTERSan Clemente's Dylan DiGiacomoKaminskiMIKE GREENE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTERSan Clemente's Andy Jabali warms up before facing off against Tesoro on Jan. 23 at Tesoro High School.Tritons focused as title game nearsBY GABRIEL RIZK » * •ORANGE COUNTY REGISTERIn every sense, the CIF Southern Section Division 1 boys soccer championship game between San Clemente and Servite is shaping up as the quintessential David and Goliath story.The Tritons ended the regular season ranked No. 1 in Orange County and were awarded the top seed in Division 1. The Friars? Unseeded and an afterthought in area hierarchy for most of the season.San Clemente won the South Coast League with a perfect record. Servite didn’t even finish second in the Trinity League, and while most more or less expected before the season even started that San Clemente would be here for the second time in the last three years, Servite likely didn’t pop into the radar until its run to the title game really began to heat up over the last two weeks.These narratives typically don’t end well for Goliath, but this isn’t a fairy tale and the Tritons want no part of a happy ending for this Cinderella stor when the teams clash tonight.“Were looking forward to playing them; they’ve been doing a good job so far,” Tritons forward Blayne Martinez said. “We’re ready to play.“It would mean the world to every single one of our team. We all love playing together.”Servite enters having won six in a row, including upset wins over Long Beach Wilson, El Toro, Claremont and Loyola, the latter three all by shutouts.“As much as I can gather, they’ve been working on defense all year and it’s definitely paying off for them now,” Tritons Coach Michael Pronier said. “If you’regoing to go with one angle in part icular, defense is the way to go.”As impressive as their run has been, the Friars are seemingly up against their biggest challenge today in a Tritons team that hasn’t lost since Jan. 4 and boasts an explosive offensive attack led by the most prolific scorer in the county, Gage Zerboni (30 goals, 12 assists).PHOTOS, CLOCKWISE:KENT TEPTOW, FOR THE REGISTER DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER MIKE GREENE. THE REGISTERKaminski:A spark off the benchThe junior backup plays a pivotal role on offense.BY GABRIEL RIZKORANGE COUNTY REGISTERBryce Kaminski might not be a starter for San Clemente, but he has developed into one of the Tritons’ best finishers just in time for a playoff run at the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship. The junior makes the most of histime on the field,often making a big ^ play within minutes of being calk'd off the bench in Coach Michael Pronier’s rotation. He’s one of a glut of midfielders at the Tritons’ disposal, but with four postseason goals in three of t he team’sfour playoff games this season, hashad no trouble standing out.“We have five midfielders that potentially are starters and we started to play well with him coming in off the bench 15-20 minutes in,” Pronier said. “He’s gotten a goal within a minute of coming off the bench in the last two games, so he’s been pivotal.”Kaminski, who has eight goalson the season, began his torrid streak in the last week of the regular season. 1 le found the net in each of the Tritons’ final two games to help lock up the South Coast League title and has scored in five of the team’s last six contests.As the Tritons look to score first to take the wind out of Servite’s sails in today’s title match, Pronier doesn’t figure to wait long to call* Kaminski’s number.“There’s no way he’s a backup midfielder,” Pronier said. “He’s scored (hreegoals in two games for us at a crucial time, so he’s solid and I’m happy for him.”San Clemente's Colin McDermott, top left, and Gage Zerboni, top right, look to lead the Tritons to a title. Servlte's Dylan Smith and Elijah Barajas, left, hope to celebrate an upset victory.“It’s been a very difficult run for us, every team has been very difficult,” Friars Coach Jon Spencer said. “I’ve don’t think we’ve been too overconfident going into any one game.!? \ f ;• *The only apparent chink in San Clemente’s armor is that its defense, with 18 regular-season shutouts, has just one in the playoffs. But with its offense averaging four goals per match, it might not matter.“The fact that we’re scoring now, and if we tweak it a little bit and get the defense back to where it was and play a little tighter, then maybe we can get another shutout,” Pronier said. “It’s just finding the balance.“I’m just so excited for these young men to have a second chance, for some of them, in three years to be able to go to the final, and I’m really proud of everything they did.”(Winning) would mean the world to every single one of our team. We all love playing together.BLAYNE MARTINEZ, SAN CLEMENTE FORWARDThe Kaminski EffectBryce Kaminski has had a hand, or foot, in some of the Tritons' biggest wins. Here's a look at his late-season highlights:San Clemente 2, Mission Viejo 0 (Feb. 2): Kaminski scored one of two goals in a win that clinched at least a share of the South Coast League title for the Tritons.San Clemente 1, Capistrano Valley 0 (Feb. 5): The Tritons finished 8-0 in league to complete their first-ever perfect league championship thanks to Kaminski's scoreless-tiebreaking goal with just seven minutes left, a kick destined to be remembered as one of the all-time milestones in Tritons soccer lore.San Clemente 7, Santa Barbara 2 (Feb. 22): Kaminski tied for the team lead in goals with two in this CIF quarterfinal blowout.San Clemente 3, JSerra 2 (Feb. 26): After entering the game in the 21st minute, Kaminski gave San Clemente a 1-0 lead it would never relinquish en route to clinching a finals berth.
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San Clemente Sun Post News
San Clemente, California, US
Sat, Mar 02, 2013
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