SoCAL BOYS: Downey, Palisades, Malibu, H-W All Advance

There will be a new champion coming out of the North Division of the CIF-Southern Southern playoffs this season.

Senior attackman Jonathan Flores registered a team-high five points on two goals and three assists to lead 10th-seeded Downey to a 10-7 victory over seventh-seeded Loyola-Los Angeles in a North Division first-round playoff game Tuesday afternoon.

Freshman attackman Austin Weisenburger, senior attackman Joseph Silva and junior middie Ian Padilla and scored twice to help the Vikings (13-5) win their sixth straight. Junior middie Marques Mustin added a goal and an assist to round out the offense for Downey, which won a game in the CIF playoffs for the first time in school history.

Defensively, sophomore goalie Nathan Hanker saved 16 shots.

With the win, Downey has advanced to the North Division quarterfinals and will face second-seeded Mira Costa on Thursday at 5 p.m., PDT. In the regular season, Downey lost twice to the Mustangs, 12-5 on March 24 and 19-4 on April 16.

“I know it’s tough to beat a team three times in one season,” Downey head coach Scott Witkin said. “All bets are off when it comes to the playoffs.”

Loyola-Los Angeles, last year’s North Division champion, finished a tumultuous year in which it had two head coaches at 10-5.

On Tuesday, the game was tied, 7-7, midway through the fourth quarter when Silva scored the go-ahead goal with 5:10 remaining. Flores added insurance to make it 9-7 with 4:45 to play.

“I feel great,” Witkin said. “We avenged last year’s loss to these guys. The kids feel fantastic, and I feel great going into the next round.

PALISADES CHARTER 4, NEWBURY PARK 3 (OT)

Junior attackman Evan Shaner scored a game-high three goals, including the game-winner with one second remaining in overtime, to lead the sixth-seeded Dolphins past the 11th-seeded Panthers.

Shaner scored the decider off a feed from senior middie Charlie Bailey to give Palisades Charter (17-2) its 11th straight win and set up a North Division quarterfinal match-up with third-seeded Chaminade Prep on Thursday at 7 p.m., PDT. The teams did not meet during the regular season.

“I think this team can beat anybody if we’re hitting on all cylinders,” Palisades Charter head coach Scott Hylen said.

Newbury Park (10-5), in its first season as a CIF program, lost in its first playoff appearance.

The Dolphins won Tuesday thanks to a massive defensive effort. Junior goalie Turner Hanley turned away 22 shots, as Palisades Charter won despite committing 17 penalties, Hylen said. Junior attackman Warren Satz scored once to round out the offense.

Palisades Charter led 3-1 in the second half before Newbury Park battled back to force overtime. The teams then played 3:59 of scoreless lacrosse in the extra session before Bailey fed Shaner on top of the crease, and Shaner delivered the Dolphins’ first-ever victory in a CIF playoff game.

“I’m just happy that we can go out and play a sloppy game and still come out the victors,” Hylen said. “Our defense really stepped up. Our guys never gave up.”

MALIBU 10, PENINSULA 6

Senior middie Jackson Wirht scored a game-high six goals to lead the ninth-seeded Sharks to their first-ever win in a CIF playoff game.

With the victory, Malibu (12-5) advanced to Thursday’s North Division quarterfinals and will face top-seeded Palos Verdes. It will be the first game this season between the two teams.

Four other players scored once in the victory for Malibu.

Eighth-seeded Peninsula (9-8) lost four of its last five to finish the season.

“I’m just very proud of the effort and looking forward to taking a shot at the No. 1 seed,” Malibu head coach Andrew MacDonnell said. “We did a great job riding and clearing.”

HARVARD-WESTLAKE 9, OAK PARK 5

Senior middie Tommy Ufland registered a game-high five points on three goals and two assists to lead the fifth-seeded Wolverines into the North Division quarterfinals.

Harvard-Westlake (12-4), which has won five of its last six games, will next face unbeaten fourth-seeded Agoura on Thursday at 7 p.m., PDT. The teams did not meet during the regular season.

Oak Park, the No. 12 seed and final team to qualify for the playoffs, finished the season 10-8.

“I think we can improve,” Harvard-Westlake head coach Mark Haddad said. “We made some mental errors, and we can definitely improve on those. We rode very well, and we cleared the ball very well.”