DAY IN SPORTS: ECR'S PLAYOFFS END IN DEFEAT.

Byline: Daily News

There is perhaps nothing else in sports so unsatisfying as a penalty-kick shootout. That fate seemed especially cruel Friday afternoon, when the visiting El Camino Real High of Woodland Hills boys' soccer team lost to Jordan of Los Angeles 4-2 on penalty kicks after four overtimes in a City Section quarterfinal game.

It was a bitter end for the two-time defending City champion Conquistadores, who scored two goals in the final six minutes of regulation to force overtime.

``We're not accustomed to losing like this, but we never gave up on this game, and that's what we're proud of right now,'' El Camino Real coach David Hussey said.

Third-seeded Jordan (15-0-1) scored the first goal of the game in the 36th minute, when Hugo Alamor re-directed a header off a free kick and into the El Camino Real net.

After that, the host Bulldogs seemed content to sit on their lead, dropping back into a defensive posture and stalling whenever possible while trying to run out the clock.

In the second half, sixth-seeded ECR (18-4-2) controlled the run of play but could not convert opportunities into goals. By the time Jordan's Jesus Martinez scored in the 73rd minute to give his team a 2-0 advantage, the 30 or so ECR fans who had made the trip began to lose hope.

But that despair didn't last long. Kyle Montgomery found Ivan Leon for two spectacular goals on long throw-ins to tie the score just before the end of regulation.

- Ramona Shelburne 

In other City Section boys' soccer games:

--Grant 3, Washington 0: Striker Moises Gomez couldn't believe his Grant of Van Nuys' quarterfinal game against visiting Washington of Los Angeles was so easy to put away. Not with the way his second-seeded Lancers reached the game, edging San Fernando in sudden-death overtime in the second round.

Gomez capitalized on a shaky Washington defense and scored two second-half goals to lead Grant into the semifinals. The Lancers will face Jordan of Los Angeles on Wednesday at home.

Grant had to adjust to Washington's offensive threat as the Generals (8-6-2) came out shooting at the Grant goal. Washington arrived just 10 minutes before game time because its bus showed up late to pick them up, according to Washington coach Carlos Campos.

Washington made its presence felt by getting three shots on goal in the first 20 minutes but managed just one more as Grant tightened its defense.

Johny Amaya gave Grant a 1-0 lead with a goal in the first minute of first-half injury time.

- Julio Cortez

In Southern Section boys' soccer:

--St. Francis 1, El Dorado 0: Pat Conway scored in the 28th minute for visiting St. Francis of La Canada (25-5) in a Division II quarterfinal.

St. Francis, which will play host to Chaparral of Temecula on Tuesday, qualified for its seventh semifinal appearance and its first since 2001, when the Golden Knights won the Division IV title.

El Dorado of Placentia (15-6-2), a section finalist three of the past four years, had an opportunity to tie the game on a corner kick with less than 10 seconds remaining. But St. Francis senior captain Jeff Fawcett got a knee on the ball and cleared it out to midfield.

``On a team with no stars, he's (Fawcett) our star,'' St. Francis coach Glen Appels said. ``He had a knack for being at the right place at the right time. He's one of the main reasons we have made it this far.''

- Gideon Rubin

--Thacher 2, Oak Park 0: The Oak Park reserves kept screaming for a goal most of the second half until they collectively sighed and sat resigned on the bench after visiting Thacher of Ojai scored its second goal to put away the Division VI quarterfinal game with three minutes remaining.

An outstanding defensive effort by Oak Park (8-6-6) couldn't overcome the Eagles' season-long struggle to score.

``It's probably as good as we played all year,'' Oak Park coach Chris Henderson said. ``They're a more skilled team.''

Scot Shaver led a defense that made goalkeeper Justin Moskowitz stop only 10 shots.

The quarterfinal finish is the best by Oak Park in 12 years.

- Matthew Kredell

--Paraclete 4, Los Amigos 3: Tim Lanski and Tony Vigil each scored twice, R.J. Miccio had two assists and Kyle Burkhardt contributed five saves for Paraclete of Lancaster (22-5-1) in a Division V victory at Los Amigos of Fountain Valley (10-5-4).

In Southern Section boys' basketball:

--Harvard-Westlake 73, Ocean View 51: Bryce Taylor scored a game-high 30 points for defending section champion Harvard-Westlake of Studio City in a Division III-A semifinal at Marina High in Huntington Beach.

Taylor, a junior forward, scored 11 points the third quarter, when the Wolverines (25-6) outscored Ocean View of Huntington Beach (27-4) 22-16 to open a 55-42 lead.

``I wanted to win so bad,'' Taylor said. ``I just wanted to do whatever I could so we would win, so I tried to take over the game.''

Harvard-Westlake, which has won two state championships and four section titles in 18 years under coach Gregg Hilliard, plays Centennial of Compton in the championship game March 8 at the Pond. As section finalists, the Wolverines automatically qualify for the state tournament.

Harvard-Westlake trailed 20-12 late in the first quarter before Jim Shook (11 points) hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to start a 14-0 run.

The Wolverines held Ocean View without a field goal for more than seven minutes starting at the end of the first quarter.

- Gideon Rubin

--Oaks Christian 78, St. Joseph 70: Mike Hornbuckle scored a career-high 39 points as Oaks Christian of Westlake Village took a big early lead and held on to advance to the Division IV-AA final in front of 1,500 at Westlake High.

Oaks Christian, in its second year of varsity basketball, plays Crossroads of Santa Monica for the title Friday at Loyola Marymount.

Hornbuckle scored 13 points in the first quarter as Oaks Christian opened a 24-10 lead. Then everyone else on the team went cold and St. Joseph of Santa Maria scored the first 10 points of the second quarter.

Hornbuckle kept the team in front by scoring nine of the Lions' 11 second-quarter points. Then he drained a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 run beginning the third quarter.

When St. Joseph got within five points in the fourth, Hornbuckle calmly hit another 3-pointer.

``I was shooting a lot this week and today was just my day,'' Hornbuckle said. ``I was on.''

- Matthew Kredell

--Villa Park 61, Moorpark 52: Senior forward Jason Madsen came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points, but Moorpark never completely overcame the erratic shooting that left the Musketeers (23-6) scoreless for the first 3 1/2 minutes of the Division II-AA quarterfinal loss at home.

Second-seeded Villa Park (25-5) took the lead for good with a 12-point run in the second quarter. The Spartans led 28-21 at the half.

UCLA-bound Sean Phaler shared the Villa Park scoring lead with 18 points despite spending much of the third quarter on the bench. Teammate Chris Selinsky took care of most of the second-half scoring and also finished with 18 points.

Moorpark senior guard Keith Lawrence scored 13 points, making him the only Musketeers player other than Madsen with more than six points.

Madsen made an impact immediately upon entering the game that saw a sloppy start by both teams. He provided Moorpark's first points as well as a brief first-quarter lead.

- Heather Gripp

--Mayfair 77, Burroughs 61: Joey Paysinger scored 16 points, Peter St. Hubert added 14 and Daniel Bernard 13 for Burroughs of Burbank (14-15) in a Division II-A loss at Mayfair of Lakewood (22-7), which got a team-high 21 points from Dejon Prejean.

--Campbell Hall 57, Western Christian 52:!off Jason Heard had 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead Campbell Hall of North Hollywood (25-2) to a Division IV-A semifinal victory over host Western Christian of Covina (22-7).

Campbell Hall will play in the final against Verbum Dei of Los Angeles, a 79-66 winner over Flintridge Prep of La Canada.

--Price 102, West Valley Christian 51: The victory over host West Valley Christian of West Hills advances top-seeded Price of Los Angeles to the Division V-A semifinal matchup with Mesrobian of Pico Rivera, a 59-50 winner over Renaissance Academy of La Canada.

In college baseball:

--UCLA 13, Texas 2: Wes Whisler and Chris Denove had three hits apiece to lead a 19-hit attack by UCLA (9-9) in a nonconference victory at the Cal State Fullerton tournament.

Mike Kunes (Chatsworth High) and David Johnson held sixth-ranked and defending NCAA champion Texas (12-4) to seven hits.

In women's basketball:

--Antelope Valley 78, El Camino 49: Jolene Haywood and Judy Collier scored 17 points apiece for the Marauders (25-9), who defeated the Warriors (13-16) in a Southern California Regional playoff game at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster.

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Photo:

Grant's Johny Amaya, right, defends Washington's Angel Campuzano during Grant's 3-0 victory.

Julio Cortez/Daily News