Esperanza clips Mission Viejo in quarterfinals
The Aztecs score game winner in second half to advance.
MISSION VIEJO – A somewhat unlikely quarterfinal meeting between two of the county’s most consistent programs was everything both sides imagined it would be like Thursday evening.
Esperanza and Mission Viejo were locked in a scoreless tie, with neither team producing any serious threats as both teams’ defenses dominated.
It was going to take a great offensive play to breakthrough, and it was Esperanza which pulled it off.
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A.B. Ogiamien recorded the game-winner in the 63rd minute as the second-seeded Aztecs edged the Diablos, 1-0, in the CIF-SS Division 1 girls soccer playoffs at Mission Viejo High.
Esperanza (22-2-5) will be host to third-seeded Flintridge Sacred Heart in Tuesday’s semifinals. The Aztecs are on a 19-match unbeaten streak, including three consecutive 1-0 victories to open the postseason.
Mission Viejo made the playoffs as the second-place team from the South Coast and finishes the season 13-8-1.
“We knew how they were coached,” Esperanza coach John King said. “We knew it was going to be an emotional battle. We were able to dig deep and were lucky to finish that one.
“I felt threatened the whole match. Mission Viejo is a team that’s not going to give up and that scares you.”
Ogiamien was just able to touch the ball before she was wedged between her defender and the charging keeper and it found its way in for the lone goal.
She was set up on the play by Jordan Pennino, who headed it to Ogiamien off a pass from Kelly Lukas. Lukas originally threw the ball in on the play before getting it right back from Rylee Baisden and playing it into the box.
“I don’t know what happened,” Ogiamien said. “I just saw the ball go in.”
Mission Viejo had one decent look afterward to try and tie it. The ball bounced free in the box after a Mission Viejo free kick, but the Diablos’ shot flew wide near post by about five feet.
“It was two great teams going at it,” Mission Viejo coach Susie Daher said. “It really did come down to that one opportunity. My kids played their hearts out. We are disappointed about not going to the semifinals, but Esperanza earned it.”
The match up was unexpected considering where Mission Viejo was at the beginning of the season.
The defending champion Aztecs returned enough talent from last year's team, but the Diablos were coming off a 2009 sesaon where they missed the playoffs.
Furthermore, the team still carried a relatively young roster. The Diablos only graduate two players from this year’s squad, which makes the future bright.
“When I was putting this roster together in July, I knew we had a tough league and young team,” Daher said. “I was wondering if we would finish in fifth or sixth place again.
“The girls work so hard day in and day out. They have tenacity and they don’t give up.”
