MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Loyola (CA) Cubs have officially been named to the 11th Annual MaxPreps Soccer Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its fifth year honoring boys soccer.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for the top 100 teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For soccer, only 20 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 34,000 competing varsity teams. This puts the Cubs ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
The Southern Section's top-ranked Loyola Cubs took care of business and ended their five game run in the
2016 CIF Division 1 section playoffs with a 3-1 win over Santa Barbara. Elliot Smith-Hastie scored two goals for Loyola and assisted the third to lead the team to its fifth section title in program history.
The following week, the Division 1 Southern Section champions opened up the
CIF Regional Tournament with a 3-2 win over San Pasqual. Two days later, Loyola outlasted Los Alamitos for a thrilling 2-1 overtime win to set up the opportunity to play for the regional crown.
On Saturday, Mar. 12th the team went up against San Diego Section's Cathedral Catholic in the regional final game. Smith-Hastie and Jack Newman scored goals for Loyola to lead the team to a 2-0 shutout victory and the CIF Southern California regional title. Goalie Antonio Chavez Borelli recorded the Cubs' 20th shutout of the season.
Loyola completed the year at 28-4 and ranked No. 5 in the nation, No. 1 in California, No. 1 in the Southern Section and No. 1 in Southern Section Division 1.
These incredible season achievements have earned the Loyola Cubs an invitation to the 11th Annual Tour of Champions.
Please join us as we celebrate with the boys soccer team, coaching staff, students and fans on Thursday, Apr. 28 at 12:15 p.m. during a lunch assembly in the commons.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the MaxPreps Tour of Champions
site.
