By Justin HAGER

It may be the “winter sports” tournament but the CIF Southern Section doesn’t typically have to deal with hail, snow or sleet. Yet that’s exactly what the weather brought to the southland on Tuesday, just in time for the kickoff of second-round action in the CIF-SS boys’ soccer tournament.

As a reporter who grew up in Wisconsin, I can say with confidence that Lambeau Field in Green Bay had nothing on Oak Park High School as officials there were forced to shovel the lines of the school’s outdoor soccer field to complete a match against Hesperia. Closer to home, the Rose Bowl saw hail while Crescenta Valley was hit with sleet and near-freezing rain. The result: a wild afternoon of CIF-SS soccer.

Unfortunately, that wildness did not bode well for local teams.

The local region was already short on teams heading into the second-round after Friday’s first-round losses by Glendale (2-1 at Crossroads) and Flintridge Prep (5-1 at South Hills), combined with last Wednesday’s wild card losses by La Cañada (1-0 to Diamond Ranch) and Burbank (2-1 at Monrovia). Entering the second-round of play, only Crescenta Valley High School and John Burroughs High School (Burbank) were left to carry the Pacific League and regional banners.

Burroughs arrived in the second-round after a nail-biting thriller in the first- round against the San Pedro school Mary Star of the Sea. Both teams allowed less than 20 combined goals to be scored against them in regulation play over the course of the entire season. So it was no surprise that, when regulation play ended, the two defensive behemoths sat tied at 0-0. Moving into a sudden death penalty shootout that lasted 13 shots, Burroughs came out on top 7-6 and secured a ticket to round two. Unfortunately for the Bears, their defensive prowess couldn’t stop the Desert Sky Champion Silverado Hawks, who continued their 12-game streak without a loss, defeating Burroughs 2-0 in regulation.

Crescenta Valley arrived in the second-round after a very physical round one match against Newbury Park. The match was so hotly contested that at one point a Newbury Park coach could be heard telling their team to “lay out” a CVHS player. A CVHS coach later described the comments as “disgraceful.” Despite the animosity, and a hard push by Newbury Park in the final eight minutes of the match, the Falcons held on to win 2-1.

Second-round play saw the Pacific League champion Falcons host the Mullholland League champion Wiseburn-Davinci Wolves from El Segundo. As the match got underway the air was cold but dry – a scenario suited to the Falcons who dominated the first half in terms of pressure and shots on goal. Unfortunately, the Falcons were unable to convert that early dominance into a significant lead. As the match progressed, the rain, cold and wind picked up, turning into sleet and leading to a wild bout of slip-and-slide on the field. At the end of regulation the match was tied 2-2 and was settled with a penalty shootout that saw Wiseburn DaVinci advance 4-3.

While the Falcons are certainly disappointed with the outcome, the team will return next year with its entire roster intact, setting up a possible championship run for CVHS.