CITY SOCCER ROUNDUP: SYLMAR WEATHERS CONDITIONS.

Byline: Daily News

Sylmar High coach Emmanuel Martins complained to school administrators earlier in the boys' soccer season because the sprinklers were left on all day before games three times, forcing the Spartans to play on a muddy field.

Now he's sending out thank-you notes.

Playing under horrible field conditions because of the rain, No. 21 Sylmar scored three second-half goals to defeat No. 12 Cleveland of Reseda 3-1 Friday in the first round of the City Section playoffs.

``We knew how to plan to play on a muddy field,'' Martins said. ``Those sprinkler problems actually helped us because we learned to adjust to those conditions early on.''

On a field in which balls could only splat or skid, not bounce, both teams tried to find their way in the first half before Sylmar (18-4-1) broke through. Adrian Lopez scored off a header, then Julian Lopez quickly added another score off a free kick. Ben Oliva later contributed a goal that could only be scored in these conditions, kicking a ball from near the center line that slipped through the goalkeeper's hands.

Victor Villalobos, the West Valley League MVP, scored a late goal for Cleveland (8-2-3).

The City Section directed teams to play their games through the rain unless there was lightning, the coaches said.

``The ball didn't move at all,'' Cleveland coach Hamnys Quilez said. ``It's difficult to play under those conditions, but I guess nobody cares about soccer. If it was baseball, I'm sure we wouldn't have played. It wasn't safe to play.''

- Matthew Kredell

In other City Section games:

--El Camino Real 4, Elizabeth Learning Center 1: El Camino Real of Woodland Hills (18-3-3) scored twice in the first half and added another goal in the opening minutes of the second to win the first-round game at home.

``I was a little skeptical at the beginning of the game. It was critical we didn't overlook (Elizabeth Learning Center),'' El Camino Real coach David Hussey said. ``We were confident, but not overconfident.''

Matters weren't helped much by the absence of Peter Saatjian, El Camino Real's leading scorer, with 19 goals, who didn't play after receiving a red card in the regular-season finale.

David Gold scored in the seventh minute, Jamie Thomas added a goal in the 18th, Nick Assad tallied in the 55th and John Saatjian in the 63rd.

Teammate Jason Smuckler made five saves in goal for El Camino Real, which advances to a second-round meeting Wednesday against Sylmar.

--Canoga Park 2, Fairfax 1: Third-seeded Canoga Park opened with a sluggish first half, then regrouped and scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half to ruin any hopes visiting Fairfax of Los Angeles, the 30th seed, might have had at pulling off a first-round upset.

``I anticipated it being a close game,'' Canoga Park Jake Swin said. ``We got it done, though. That's all you can do at this stage of the season.''

Jeffrey Quijano scored the first goal off a set piece. Victor Sanchez sent a well-placed pass from the left flank to Quijano, who headed the ball to the far post.

Jorge Paez scored the winner after taking a pass from Jonathan Aguilar and shooting to the near post.

--San Fernando 4, Hollywood 1: Rudy Maravilla scored two goals to increase his total to 19 this season as host San Fernando (17-3-2) won a first-round game.

Jairo Garcia added one goal and two assists, and Luis Hernandez added the goal. Teammate Jose Salmeron made four saves, all in the first half, for San Fernando, which plays Palisades at home Wednesday.

--In other games: Fremont of Los Angeles defeated visiting Poly of Sun Valley, 2-0. ... Chatsworth was no match for Hamilton of Los Angeles in a 7-2 loss on the road. ... Visiting South Gate narrowly defeated Canoga Park, 3-2.