SANTA ANA – Consider Group C the “Group of Death” in the Mater Dei Premier Invitational.
Cathedral Catholic of San Diego and Aliso Niguel – ranked Nos. 1 and 4 in the state by Top Drawer Soccer – lead a group that includes Villa Park and Rosary, ranked 18th and 19th in the same poll.
With the Spartans and Royals suffering pool-play losses in Wednesday’s openers, both teams found themselves in a must-win situation Thursday night.
After a scoreless first half, Rosary’s Emilee Monnig headed in the eventual game-winner on a set piece in the 57th minute, giving the Royals a 1-0 victory over Villa Park at Mater Dei High on the second day of pool play.
“We were pretty disappointed in (Wednesday’s) performance against Cathedral Catholic because we thought let a chance slip away,” Rosary coach Sean Melendez said. “Today we just wanted to come out and get right back where we think we can be.”
Villa Park (2-2-1) looked sharp early on, spending a majority of the opening 10 minutes in the attacking third. Junior forward Lauren Polyakov fired off three shots in that time span, none of which were able to find its way past Rosary keeper Emma Toohey.
The Spartans failed to produce another shot on goal the remainder of the match.
Rosary (3-1-1) held a majority of the possession throughout the remainder of the contest, thanks in large part to its crisp passing and strong midfield play from Roisin Allaeddini, Kelly Shaughnessy and Olivia Lacasto.
While the Royals pressure was unable to produce a goal in the opening half, it ultimately found the net after the break.
In the 57th minute, Rosary was awarded a free kick down the left-hand side of the field, a few yards from the corner arc. When Lacasto served the ball to the near post, it was Monnig who beat her defender to the spot, heading the cross into the back of the net for what proved to be the decisive strike.
“I thought they were marked up pretty tight defensively,” Melendez added. “Emily was just a step ahead and was able to flick it through.”
Also in the Mater Dei Premier Invitational:
Mater Dei 0, Los Alamitos 0: The Monarchs and Griffins battled to a scoreless draw on after both squads suffered losses on the tournament’s opening day. Mater Dei goalkeeper Amber Hadfield tallied a game-high five saves in the draw.
Canyon 1, Bishop Amat 0: Jen Rose’s first-half goal proved to be all the insurance Comanches’ goalkeeper Lauren Cooper needed, as the senior recorded her third consecutive shutout in a victory over the Lancers.
Esperanza 2, San Clemente 0: The Aztecs got second half goals from KC Cook and Katelyn Traver, turning a halftime stalemate into a two-goal edge over the Tritons.