FULLERTON – Two girls soccer teams trying to find their way early in the season didn’t find anything more than a wet field on Thursday.
Cypress controlled possession and Rosary got better chances, but neither could find the net in a scoreless nonleague game at Fullerton College.
“That’s kind of been our M.O. this year,” Rosary coach Sean Melendez said. “We’re definitely solid defensively, and not just the back line or our keeper, but in the midfield as well. We’re just trying to search to find the goal scorer.”
Rosary (5-3-6) posted its ninth shutout and fifth scoreless tie of the season thanks to strong play from a four-member backline featuring all four grade levels.
“This group has really never played together besides two of our center backs, senior Amy Murikawa and junior Lauren Hansen,” Melendez said. “I think the leaders are helping (the freshman and sophomore outside backs) along and they’ve done awesome. They’re definitely a unit.”
Rosary produced the game’s best scoring chance as Hayley Heil rang a free kick off the crossbar late in the second half.
Cypress (2-4-3) got what it wanted possession-wise but couldn’t get anything truly dangerous toward the net.
“We’ve really strived to make sure our possession is better,” Cypress coach Nicole Woiemberghe said. “We lost a lot of our forwards to graduation, so we’re still trying to find the right mix of people up top.”
Cypress, three-time reigning Empire League champion, moved up from CIF-SS Division 3 to Division 1 and is trying to reload for a tough road ahead.
“We’re making strides in the right direction,” Woiemberghe said. “We’re very young in comparison to where we’ve been in the past. Every game we’re getting better.”
Both teams’ schedules ramp up next week with the Excalibur Tournament, which starts Tuesday. Rosary opens against Dana Hills and Cypress kicks off with No. 5 Edison.
“We’ve designed our schedule where it gets more difficult as we go,” Melendez said. “I think we’ll be ready by the time Trinity League hits. I think collectively as a group, we might be able to surprise some teams this year.”
