By Phillip Brents
Posted Jan. 4, 2005

To date, Southwest High School has not been a roller hockey magnet. In fact, the Raiders had to cancel their program midway through last season when the team was left with just one eligible player. It was a low point for both the Southwest program and the CIF/Metro Conference in general.

The Raiders, restocked with 16 players this season, reached what may be a high point in the five-year old program Monday night by defeating South Bay League rival Castle Park, 3-0, at Skate San Diego in National City.

According to Southwest coach Jerry Nestlerode, Monday’s win is believed to be the first on-court victory in school history, though records remain sketchy about the team’s first season, as Nestlerode did not take over as coach until the program’s second year.

"It’s a nice win for our team and our program. The team has worked really hard to earn some respect from the other teams in the league this year. Our goal has been to be competitive and earn some respect. Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction," Nestlerode said.

The Raiders entered Monday’s contest with a 0-6-0 record after having been outscored 97-3. Victor Sandoval and Chris Gallegos each scored one goal and one assist for Southwest, which notched one goal in each period. David Oblima scored the Raiders’ other goal while Jeff Paguio contributed one assist. The shutout went to Eric Chagoyan, the fourth goaltender Nestlerode has used this season. The Southwest coach said Chagoyan may have the job permanently.

Sandoval was among the players who were a part of last season’s team that folded at the holiday break.
"It was pretty frustrating but this feels good," he said after Monday’s win.

The Raiders’ victory appears to have been only a matter of time. The team was competitive in a 6-1 loss to Sweetwater on Dec. 9 after opening the season with a pair of lop-sided losses to Hilltop (23-0 and 24-1) and blowout loss against both Mar Vista (12-0) and Otay Ranch (16-0).

"When you don’t play well as a team but still find a way to win, that’s usually the mark of a good team," said Cole, whose team improved to 6-0-0 in league play to jump three full games ahead of Hilltop (3-3-0, 4-3-0) with two league games remaining on the schedule.

Mar Vista scored twice on down court rushes with 5:17 and 2:38 left in the first period to grab a 2-0 lead against the run of play. Tanaka opened scoring in the game, followed by a goal by Adrian Avalos. The Lancers quickly got back in the game on a goal by Cory Garvin with 57 seconds left in the period. However, a long floater by Nicklen crossed the goal line with one second left to put the Mariners in front 3-1 and seize momentum in the contest.

Tanaka’s second goal in the game pushed Mar Vista out in front by a 4-1 margin before Brian Mark’s goal with 5:34 to play in the middle period pulled Hilltop back to within a pair of goals. However, the Mariners quickly regained their three-goal lead as Tanaka completed his hat trick 1:05 later. Two more unanswered goals pushed the Mar Vista lead to 7-2 before Kevin Mark notched the game’s final goal for the Lancers.

Garvin led Hilltop with one goal and two assists while Avalos scored twice for the Mariners, who also received two assists from Trevor Stutzman.

In seven games, Mar Vista has outscored foes 75-12 to rank second in offense and third in defense in the 18-team conference.