INLAND FIELDHOUSE

Severe weather has again interrupted Tom Tilson Holiday Classic.

Riverside Poly’s boys varsity soccer tournament was originally scheduled to be played Saturday-Tuesday at Poly HS, but severe wind and rain caused confusion and delay and the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds were postponed and played Tuesday at Riverside King HS. These matches were played as re-scheduled.

A revised tournament outlook, published late Monday, re-scheduled the championship match set for 10 a.m. Wednesday. But with better weather in the forecast, that has now been updated to 10 a.m. Thursday.

Now that we’re all caught up (I think)… Inland Area No. 3 Riverside King (6-2-3), the impromptu hosts, will play No. 2 Murrieta Valley (9-2-1) at 10 a.m. today at Riverside Unified District Stadium at King HS.

THE LOWDOWN:
The Nighthawks reached the Tilson Classic final by avenging an early-season loss to Rialto Carter with a 5-0 blowout victory in the quarterfinals, and then defeated San Bernardino Cajon, 2-1, in the semifinals. In all, coach Mark Stratton’s side has outscored opponents, 15-1, in the tournament.

The Wolves reached the final with a couple of 1-0 victories on Tuesday. Coach Todd Mapes’s side downed La Quinta in the quarterfinals, then secured a victory over Temecula Chaparral in the semifinals with a first-half goal from Justyn Peeples. The win over Chaparral was integral; it avenged King’s 1-0 loss to the Pumas in last year’s Tilson Classic championship match.

STARTING XIs
RIVERSIDE KING — GK: Bradley Doman; D: Justyn Peeples, NA, NA, NA; MF: Ricardo Mendez, Andy Ho, Josue Soto, Breckin Lacambra; F: Karl Fitzgerald, Jarrett Lomanto.

MURRIETA VALLEY — GK: Alex Montion; D: Kyle Genevay, Kyle Haecker, Jesse Sanders, Michael Randall; MF: Dale Howard, Chris Sanders, Ronnie Llamado, Ernie Solis; F: Nik Spangler, Bryant Franco.

THE DIFFERENCE:
The Nighthawks, in the second half of their 2-1 semifinal victory over San Bernardino Cajon, played the best passing game I’ve seen this season. Senior MF Chris Sanders, slotted behind the forwards, created opportunities time and again. If he and his teammates can again find a rhythm to their passing then King senior GK Bradley Doman may have a rough day.