Northwood girls surprise No. 8 El Toro, 1-0

IRVINE - Coach Steve Tatone stood in front of his team after Tuesday's match.

Northwood had upset No. 8 El Toro, 1-0, in Sea View League girls soccer play at Meadowbrook Park, but Tatone challenged his team for more if it is to defend its league title.

“None of the coaches are pleased with the play,” he said. “I'm pleased with the result.”

The victory was the second in a row for the unranked Timberwolves (7-6-3, 2-0) to open league. On the other hand, the Chargers (7-4-2, 0-2), who began Sea View competition ranked No. 4 in the county, dropped their second consecutive decision and have yet to score in league.

“We are a good team,” Chargers coach Justin Yee said. “We know we can win. We just need to regroup and focus on our next eight games.”

Northwood led, 1-0, at halftime on the strength of sophomore Lauren Porter's goal. The Chargers struggled for looks in the opening half, but found more space to work with in the second.

“In the second half we had the most chances,” Yee said. “We need to build on those.”

Tatone was disappointed with the number of corner kicks - four in the second half - the defense allowed. He credited senior defender Brittany Langdon for cleaning up most of the mess.

“She dominated the middle,” he said. “She gobbled up every ball.”

Langdon was one of three seniors in the starting lineup for Northwood. Her leadership in the backfield set the tone with senior Katie Wing unavailable, Tatone said.

“El Toro is an awesome team,” Langdon said. “Usually we come out and bring our energy, but it wasn't our normal energy today. We were coming up big in the air today. That was definitely a big part of it.”

After a bumpy preseason, the Timberwolves have started league with a victory over Woodbridge, 4-1, and the Chargers. Combined the two teams had just four losses prior.

“We need to be consistent,” Tatone said of moving forward. “We are very young and we are very fast.”

Contact the writer: ctobolski@ocregister.com