South Placer Boys' Soccer roundup: Wildcats and Grizzlies fighting for top spot in the SFL

The Whitney Wildcats boys' soccer team is tied for first-place in the Sierra Foothill League at 4-0-2 and are third in the Sac-Joaquin Section MaxPreps rankings following a 2-0 win over Del Oro High last Friday night. Junior Evan Pimentel and senior Daniel Yoon both scored in the contest while Pimentel added another goal in a 4-0 win over Rocklin High on Jan. 18. Whitney High has outscored their league opponents 18-6 with their only two draws coming against the Oak Ridge Trojans and Granite Bay High. "We have an attacking philosophy that we've used for several years that has allowed us to average three goals a game the past five years," Wildcats coach Joel Williams said. "When we came back from break, we struggled in form a bit as we went away from what's worked but we have focused the last couple of weeks on going back to the basics of that philosophy and then reacting to when other things present itself off of that." Whitney High won the league, section and NorCal title last season and will look to repeat as champions once again. The Wildcats play the Trojans at home on Friday before traveling to Granite Bay High on Wednesday night. "We never talk about winning league, sections or NorCals with the boys because we really do try to stay present in the moment," Williams said. "We're really just taking it one game at a time and continuing to get better, knowing we control our chances for success." Granite Bay High is currently 10th in the Sac-Joaquin Section MaxPreps rankings and is tied for first with the Wildcats in the Sierra Foothill League, following a 2-0 win over Oak Ridge High last Friday night. The Grizzlies also defeated the Del Oro Golden Eagles 4-1 on Jan. 18 and have been led by Talan Rochelle, who scored four goals in the past two fixtures. Fikar Alsakati and Sala Salem both scored a goal in the win over the Golden Eagles. The Grizzlies are looking to improve off of their third-place finish last season when they also made it to the section title game. Granite Bay High faces Folsom High on Friday before playing Whitney High on Wednesday. The Del Oro Golden Eagles are fourth behind Oak Ridge High after losing their last two games against the Wildcats and the Grizzlies. The top five teams in the Sierra Foothill League will qualify for the Sac-Joaquin Section postseason. In its most recent fixture, Del Oro High lost 2-0 to the Wildcats last Friday in a game where they allowed 15 shots and nine on target. The Golden Eagles face Rocklin High away on Friday before playing Folsom High on Wednesday. The Rocklin Thunder currently sit tied for fifth in the league at 1-5 with Folsom High entering the final week of the season. Rocklin High defeated Folsom High back on Jan. 4, but lost 4-0 last Friday. The Thunder will face Del Oro High at home on Friday before traveling to Oak Ridge High on Wednesday. Capital Valley Conference Woodcreek High dropped to sixth-place in the Capital Valley Conference following a 3-0 loss against the Antelope Titans on Tuesday night. For the Timberwolves, it was their senior night where 14 seniors were honored prior to the game. Unfortunately, they were unable to win their final regular season home game as the Titans got things going early with a sixth minute strike by Ivan Lerda. The Titans added their second goal later in the first half as Nick Mitov scored a penalty kick in the 34th minute. The Timberwolves got their best opportunity right before halftime as they won a penalty but senior Hermon Meles had his shot saved and it was 2-0 Titans at the break. Antelope High began the second half strong with a left-footed strike by Abdullah Ghalib in the 42nd minute. Woodcreek High struggled to maintain possession in the first half but came out more aggressive in the second half and had eight shots with four on target in the final 35 minutes. "I think part of it was our mentality was better across the whole team," Timberwolves coach Shaun Hilton said. "We have some younger players who didn't start that are talented and when they came onto the pitch, they had better possessional quality and lifted the team." The top four teams in the league will advance to the section playoffs and the Timberwolves are a full game behind fourth- place with three games to play. They will face River Valley High away on Friday before facing Yuba City High on Tuesday. The Roseville Tigers are currently tied for third in the Capital Valley Conference at 3-3-3 following a 1-0 win over Yuba City High on Friday night. Roseville High totaled 13 shots in the game with the winning goal coming in the second half by senior Logan Laughner and assisted by David Pena. Junior Andrew Kimball leads all Tigers scorers with three goals this season. Roseville High will look to continue their solid form on Friday night away against Bella Vista High before traveling to face Inderkum High on Tuesday. Foothill Valley League Oakmont High has won its last two games including a 4-1 win over the Placer Hillmen on Tuesday to progress to 2-3 and tied for fourth-place in the Foothill Valley League. The Vikings have continued to be led by sophomore Adrian Alveranga, who has 18 goals on the season, including hat tricks against Nevada Union High on Jan. 19 and against the Hillmen on Tuesday. The top three teams in the league will qualify for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. The Vikings face West Park High away on Thursday, after press time, and play Ponderosa High at home on Tuesday. The West Park Panthers have lost their last three games to drop to a tie for fourth with the Vikings, following a 3-0 loss to Lincoln High on Tuesday night. The Panthers haven't scored since Jan. 12 in a 2-0 win over the Nevada Union Miners. After facing the Vikings on Thursday, West Park High will play the Miners at home on Tuesday.