GIRLS' SOCCER: SYLMAR BLASTS WAY TO TOURNAMENT TITLE MARTINEZ NETS FOUR GOALS, ASSIST.

Byline: ERIK BOAL Special to the Daily News

EAST LOS ANGELES -- Banning of Wilmington tried to wear down the Sylmar girls' soccer team with its physical play.

But it was the Spartans who wound up pounding the Pilots into submission before the final whistle of Saturday's championship game in the 15th annual Garfield Invitational Copa Azteca tournament.

Carol Martinez was on the receiving end of several of Banning's seven first-half fouls -- three resulting in yellow cards -- but they weren't enough to slow down the Sylmar forward, who scored a season-high fourgoals and added an assist in a 6-0 victory at Garfield High.

Brenda Nunez converted a pass from Martinez to score Sylmar's final goal in the 56th minute. Before Banning (6-2-1) took the ensuing kick from the midfield to restart play, the center official blew the whistle, indicating the Pilots no longer desired to continue competing.

It provided an anticlimactic end to a dominant five-game run for the Spartans (16-2).

``We never give up,'' said Martinez, who scored eight goals in the tournament, two in less than three minutes in the second half to extend Sylmar's lead to 5-0.

``Every time they knock me down, I get back up. It just gets me more pumped up to score again.''

That proved to be a bad omen for Banning, which had advanced to the final with a 1-0 victory earlier Saturday over South Gate.

``I told the girls you've got to have pride in yourself,'' said Sylmar coach Jose Navarro, whose team outscored the opposition 25-2 en route to winning the tournament for the first time.

``You've got to play all the way to the end.''

Frustration began to set in for Banning even before the end of the first 35-minute half, with Vicky Martinez and Elizabeth Arias being knocked down inside the penalty box on successive Sylmar possessions.

Arias, who scored twice in the Spartans' 4-2 semifinal victory over host Garfield, converted a penalty shot in the 34th minute for her fifth tournament goal.

``We just have to remember to calm down and keep our cool the entire game,'' Arias said. ``They tried to take us out of our game, but we didn't react. It proved them wrong.''

Jennifer Alvarez and Raquel Velarde, who scored two goals against Garfield, both contributed assists for the Spartans, who recorded 23 shots en route to capturing their second tournament title of the season.

Sweeper Isaura Velarde led a defense that yielded only one shot in front of goalkeeper Nicole Gonzalez, who recorded her area-leading 13th shutout.

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Sylmar's Carol Martinez slips past a Garfield defender during their semifinal match Saturday.

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