PERFECT DEFENSE BAGS VICTORY; T.O. DEFEATS ROYAL IN SOCCER PLAYOFFS.

Byline: Patrick Hipes Daily News Staff Writer

The ball pinged and ponged around Thousand Oaks High goalkeeper Dan Grimm on Wednesday like an electron in a particle accelerator.

First he would dive to his right, stretching out his huge hand just in time to flick it away from his net. Then to his left, sliding feet first and knocking it to the far sideline.

Whatever Royal kicked at him, Grimm kicked right back.

In the end, the senior's performance and a goal by Danny Ermolovich proved to be all the difference they could ask for. The Lancers knocked off the defending Southern Section Division I champ, and league rival, Highlanders 1-0 at Thousand Oaks High, advancing to Friday's CIF quarterfinals against Loyola.

Loyola, the section's No. 3 seed, beat visiting Santa Barbara 2-0 on Wednesday.

``This is the biggest win I've seen for this program,'' coach Mark Tietjen said of his Lancers, who won their first Marmonte League title in six years this season. ``We have a lot of confidence, and we're playing well enough to win. Every game is a test for us.''

Royal (18-7-2) has won two of the past three Division I titles, but it could not break through the force field aligned by Grimm and the Lancers defense. After Ermolovich seared an 18-yard blast past Highlanders goalkeeper Nelson Jimenez with 10 seconds left in the first half, Thousand Oaks (16-3-5) played defense the rest of the match.

It showed. Royal outshot the Lancers 10-3 in the final 40 minutes, with different players taking pot shots at Grimm, who had eight saves on the day.

``They really packed it in,'' said Highlanders sweeper Sean Gesell. ``It seemed like they had a wall in front of the goal. We really had stepped it up, but they were there for everything we did.''

At least three times in the game, Royal shots were cleared off the line by Lancers defenders, the last coming when Tom Stout headed a sure goal by Jake Van Sloten away from danger.

And then came the killer. With Grimm forced out of the goal box, the Highlanders' Dan Wilson tried to chip a shot over him. Grimm recovered in time, diving backward to push the ball to the right left corner.

Royal's Dhiraj Coats ran to the ball unmarked at the far post, but his shot clanked off the post and out of bounds, and a collective groan from the Royal sideline filled the air. There were 23 minutes to play.

``When it hit the post, I turned to Glenn (Gordon, assistant coach) and said, `That's it, it's over,' '' said Highlanders coach Kevin Corley. ``It just wasn't our day.''

Instead, the day belonged to Ermolovich, a sophomore who's turned into a bit of a Royal-killer. He had both goals in Thousand Oaks' 2-0 victory at Royal on Jan. 21 - both in overtime - guiding the Lancers to their first victory at the Simi Valley school in 12 seasons. On Wednesday, he did it again, finding himself alone when a quick throw-in came to him in the 40th minute of play. He sized up his options and blasted the ball home.

``It came right at my feet,'' Ermolovich said. ``I hit it real well.''

The rest was left up to Grimm, who recorded his sixth shutout of the season.

``I've never been on a team with a defense like this,'' he said. ``Usually, I don't have to do any work because they're so good. But today was my day. It was my turn to pick it up for them.''

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PHOTO (Color) Brad Boyle of Thousand Oaks High, left, and Justin Semsch of Royal High look for the ball during Wednesday's playoff game.

Evan Yee/Daily News