Opportunistic Villa Park maintains pace in Century League

ORANGE - With every game in the tightly contest Century League taking on added importance, No. 10 Villa Park once again relied on its successful formula of being opportunistic to produce another big win.

Cassidy Hodson scored the lone goal of the match, as the Spartans edged the Foothill Knights, 1-0, on Wednesday at Fred Kelly Stadium.

“The girls are finding a way to get that goal and protect that lead,” Spartans coach Brent Whitfield said. “I can’t be more proud of the girls. They know there is still a job to do, and if they take care of business, they will be rewarded at the end of the season.”

The victory helps Villa Park (16-4-3, 7-2) keep pace with No. 5 Esperanza, who defeated Brea Olinda 1-0 in overtime earlier in the day to win its’ eighth straight match.

Villa Park has three matches remaining and controls its own destiny. If the Spartans win their remaining matches and finish in a tie with the Aztecs, they would earn the top league seed in the CIF playoffs by virtue of goal differential in the teams’ two head to head match-ups.

Both the Spartans and Knights began the match looking for early scoring chances, but were unable to take advantages of opportunities due in large part to strong attacking third defense on both sides.

Villa Park began to find space in the Knights defense near the midway point of the first half and produced the lone goal of the match in the 18th minute. Freshman Bethany Sutherland threaded a well-placed diagonal cross through the middle of the field to Hodson, who beat the run-up challenge of Knights freshman goalie Justine Rendl and tapped a shot that bounced into the far post corner of the goal.

“I saw a wide open space and when I looked up, I saw the far post,” Hodson said. “They’re defenders are good, so we just had to look up and try to play the ball to the corners.”

The Knights (8-5-8, 4-4-2) managed to make runs into the attacking third toward the latter part of the first half, but Spartans sophomore Jenna Reeves continually thwarted deeper penetration and shot opportunities by clearing several balls away from attackers.

“When I go into the game, I just try to judge the forwards, trust the people behind me, and play,” Reeves said. “I know that if we stay strong and get our feet set, we’ll be fine.”

Foothill’s best chance in the half came in the 33rd minute. After Spartans goalie Breana Martinez deflected a ball away from the box, sophomore Megan Ryes tracked down the loose ball and had a shot attempt at an empty net. But her shot sailed wide of the near post.

Foothill gradually increased its’ attacking pressure later in the second half and nearly tied the match twice in the final 10 minutes of regulation. Off a free kick, Knights sophomore Kate Sasser sent a shot toward the goal that was stopped on a well timed lunge by Martinez.

"I saw where she was looking and I stuck my hand out and saved it,” Martinez said. “My defense deserved to not be scored on because of their hard work.”

The Knights continued to try and attack the Spartans defense, but Reeves and fellow defender Carissa Chase continued to stop runs toward the goal by clearing the ball away from the net.

"Carissa and Jenna have been leading the backline, and Breana has been top notch for us,” Whitfield said.   

Then in the 77th minute, Knights junior Eileen Zendejas threaded a perfect pass through the Spartans defense for senior Amanda Vasquez, who broke free and tapped a shot into the goal. However, the goal was negated because of an offside call.

Foothill had one last chance with a minute remaining in regulation, but a header by Vasquez was just wide of the far post.

“I think Villa Park out-hustled and out-played played us from the time the whistle blew until the last 15 minutes,” Knights coach Steve Patterson said. “I think we have to learn from this, relax, and not put so much pressure on ourselves.”