LA MIRADA – Thursday’s game looked like an easy practice for No. 5 JSerra because at this point in the season for the talented Lions, it is.
JSerra scored twice in the first four minutes and Isabella D’Aquila scored twice to take the North Orange County Classic blue division title game, 3-1, over Chino Hills at La Mirada High.
“This season comes at a hard time,” JSerra coach Greg Baker said of tournament time. “It’s Christmas. It’s finals week. So we’re not playing. This is our practice. To get five games against good teams is as good as any practice.”
JSerra (8-1-0) got on the board quick thanks to D’Aquila.
In the second minute, Kennedy Carter flicked the ball to the middle from the right side, and D’Aquila collected and finished to the right side for the lead, 1-0.
Just two minutes later, Samantha Hobert chipped a ball up and over the back line of Chino Hills (8-4-1) to Samantha Williams. Williams shot the ball off the keeper’s hands, but the ball had enough spin to continue into the net for the two-goal advantage.
“We had very good defensive structure together,” D’Aquila said. “Everyone was stepping really good and pressing the goal to get goals after goals after goals. That’s what we were looking for, to just shoot.”
D’Aquila scored her eighth goal of the tournament and second of the game in the 37th minute.
Similar to the second goal, Hobert sent a ball over the top to D’Aquila. The sophomore one-time volleyed the ball over the keeper’s head and into the net for the three-goal lead.
“She’s always a threat,” Baker said. “For her, it’s just about getting her a number of chances because you know its going to happen at some point.”
In the NOCC white division championship:
No. 9 Sunny Hills 1, Mayfair of Lakewood 0: The Lancers (8-1-0) scored on a first-half corner kick as Emily Miramontes finished off Carlie De La Torre’s service at the far post. Sunny Hills fended off every Mayfair challenge to win its second tournament of the season.
In the Excalibur championship:
No. 4 Los Alamitos 2, Cathedral Catholic of San Diego 0: The Griffins captured the sword of Excalibur with Vanessa Millsaps scoring a goal in the first half and assisting on Sophia Bruno’s goal in the second half. Los Alamitos won its second tournament of the season.
