Santa Margarita takes control of Trinity race

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA - No. 4 Santa Margarita continued its mastery of No. 5 Orange Lutheran, and, in the process, took control of its destiny in the race for the Trinity League title.

Samantha Trenary and Heather Walleigh each scored a goal, as the Eagles beat the Lancers, 2-0, on Thursday at Santa Margarita High.

“They (Orange Lutheran) played us hard, but we were able to move the ball around and our defense was able to handle their attack,” Eagles coach Chuck Morales said.

Santa Margarita (11-5-2 5-1) is 5-0-1 in its past six meetings with Orange Lutheran (15-6, 4-2), and it has not allowed a goal to the Lancers in that span.

The Eagles entered the week tied with the Lancers and Mater Dei for first place, but they defeated both rivals and can clinch a third consecutive league title with victories over JSerra and Rosary in the final two league matches.

Defense controlled the early portion of the match for both teams, as neither was able to establish consistent pressure in the attacking third.

Santa Margarita began to find space to attack later in the half and broke through with the first goal of the match in the 29th minute. Junior Niki Miyashiro hit Trenary with a pass as she was making a run toward the goal. Trenary faked a Lancers defender to create space and hit a low roller that bounced into the far corner of the goal.

“I turned with the inside of my foot, faked out the defender, and saw that the left side of the goal was open,” Trenary said. “I hit the ball with the right side of my foot and the shot bent into the goal. Getting that first goal gave us confidence.”

The Lancers nearly tied the match on their ensuing possession, but a header by senior Darian Podmajersky sailed just wide of the post.

Santa Margarita continued to produce quality scoring chances in the final moments of the half, but Lancers goalie Corey Tobin (10 saves) produced two diving stops to keep it a one-goal deficit at the intermission.

Orange Lutheran began to penetrate into the attacking third early in the second half, but defender Kailey Hackett helped the Eagles backline hold the Lancers to a minimal amount of quality scoring opportunities.

“As a backline, we’ve played together for a long time which helps,” Hackett said.

Santa Margarita added an insurance goal in the 60th minute, as Trenary dribbled down the sideline and curled back toward the middle for a shot that was knocked away by Tobin. But Walleigh found the deflection and tapped the ball into the goal.

“As soon as I knew it was going to hit off the keeper, I knew I was going to have to get there quickly and be there first,” Walleigh said.

Orange Lutheran nearly answered on their ensuing attack, but a shot by freshman Andrea Koukladas ricocheted off the crossbar.

The Lancers maintained possession in the attacking third late in the match, but the Eagles defense continued to limit quality scoring opportunities. Two saves from junior goalie Taylor Wulf in the final seven minutes sealed the victory for Santa Margarita.

“They scored on their first chance in the first half, and from there, we fell apart for the rest of the half,” Lancers coach Del Montel said. “We had some chances in the second half, but Santa Margarita played good defense and we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”