HEAD FIRST: Canyon's Stephanie Morgan, left, and Los Alamitos' Anne Wethe fight for the ball during an Excalibur Tournament game. Los Alamitos defeated Canyon, 1-0. CHRISTINA HOUSE, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER |
El Toro shuts down Mission Viejo again
The Chargers win the showdown of top 10 teams in the Excalibur Tournament.
The tournament and style of play was different, but the result was the same for the El Toro girls soccer team.
Emily Goldstein delivered the winning penalty kick as the No. 2 Chargers defeated No. 7 Mission Viejo for the second time this month, winning 1-0 after outscoring the Diablos, 5-4, in penalty kicks Thursday in the second round of the 18th annual Excalibur Tournament at Foothill High.
"We were able to limit their chances," said Chargers coach John Yee, whose team defeated Thousand Oaks, 2-1, in the opening round of the tournament earlier in the day. "Our goal is to get better each game and be more aggressive, especially on offense."
El Toro (7-2-2), which used precise offensive execution to win the Dec. 4 meeting at Mission Viejo, 3-1, used a physical defensive effort Thursday, thwarting a Diablos offense that had scored 10 goals in their previous three games, all victories.
High-scoring forward Lauren Matheson was bottled up by a bevy of Chargers defenders and was unable to get untracked. The Chargers also managed to keep the Diablos away from the center of the field, forcing them to attack from the sidelines.
However, the Diablos (6-5-2) matched the Chargers' efforts on defense in regulation, not allowing El Toro to set up its offense or get quality shot attempts in its attacking third.
After each team had its chances late in regulation, the game moved into penalty kicks. Felicia Franco, Ali Thompson, Morgan Hardridge and Brooke Ellison connected for El Toro, before Goldstein's winner past Diablos goalie Marriah Kessler. The Chargers face Los Alamitos today at 3:30 p.m.
In other Excalibur tournament games:
No. 2 Santa Margarita 1, Long Beach Wilson 0: Michelle Loftus scored the winning goal in sudden death as the Eagles (7-1-2) defeated the Bruins, winning 7-6 on penalty kicks in a first-round game at Foothill High.
No. 3 Los Alamitos 1, Dana Hills 0: Senior Anne Wethe scored in the second half, as the Griffins (7-3-3) defeated the Dolphins (3-3-3) in second-round action at Foothill High.
No. 10 Trabuco Hills 2, Beckman 0: Junior Sara Halverson scored twice to lead the Mustangs (7-2-1) past the Patriots (6-2) in a second-round game at Foothill High.
In the North Orange County Classic:
No. 9 Brea Olinda 5, Cabrillo of Long Beach 0: Kendall VanDine scored three times to lead the host Wildcats (11-1-1) past the Jaguars in a second-round game. In the opening round, VanDine tallied two goals as the Wildcats defeated Viewpoint of Calabasas, 4-0.
Pacifica 4, La Reina of Thousand Oaks 0: Jaqulyn Herkins scored two goals as the Mariners (7-2-1) defeated the Regents in second round action at Cypress College. Herkins also tallied two goals for the Mariners in their 5-0 victory over California High, 5-0.
Contact the writer: jeichelberger@ocregister.com
| How sad that MV can't take the criticism. Consulation Round is the best for you! |
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| soccerfan - Dec 28, 2007 03:42:26 PM | Remove Comment |
