LOS ALAMITOS – The Los Alamitos girls soccer team showed no panic in its CIF-SS Division 1 first-round matchup against Northwood on Thursday night.
After failing to capitalize on multiple opportunities in the first half, the Griffins scored two late goals to take a 2-0 win over the Timberwolves.
“This has been our identity and we don’t vary from it,” Los Alamitos assistant coach Mossy Kennedy said. “We wear teams down with our possession and we know if we just keep working the chances will come.
“The girls weren’t flustered and stayed patient,” he added.
Los Alamitos (21-4-3) will be at home against Palos Verdes (19-3-3) in the second round Tuesday at 5 p.m.
The Griffins dominated possession in the match and continued to pound the ball forward as Northwood stayed defensive. Junior Vanessa Millsaps had two chances to put Los Alamitos up in the first half, but missed the target high on both occasions.
Millsaps stayed composed and in the 74th minute she found the back of the net with a strike from the top of the box.
The ball tailed into the top right corner of the goal, giving the Griffins the winner.
“It was exciting to finally finish one,” said Millsaps, a University of Washington commit. “We practice finishing our opportunities and it was nice to bring the team together with that goal.”
A few minutes later senior Monique Ponce put the Griffins up 2-0. In the 76th minute senior Amanda Jones crossed one to Ponce, who was at the top of the box. Ponce took a touch and struck it with a right foot. The ball zipped past the Northwood keeper to put the game away.
“We’ve played so many close games and this is where our identity shows itself,” Kennedy said. “Seeing the girls not get flustered was important. They know because they’ve been there before.”
Northwood (11-9-4) only had five shots in the match, while the Griffins had 11.
