Chaminade Starts Over, Goes Under to Buena

WEST HILLS —  Tuesday’s game was a chance for Chaminade and Buena to see just where their soccer teams stand.

This morning, Buena, stands a little bit taller after defeating the defending Southern Section Division IV champions, 3-1, in a nonconference game.

“We were out of rhythm,” Chaminade Coach Mike Evans said. “We’ve only had two practices. It’s unfortunate we had to play Buena this early in the season.

“This is a good thing for us. It’s a good way for us to judge where we stand. It’s not over. We lost the season opener last year and everybody thought we weren’t going to be good.”

Even without top players Lisa Engel and Natalie Sanderson, Buena (1-0), led by senior forward J.J. Toohey, picked apart an aggressive Eagles defense.

Toohey was involved in all three Bulldogs’ goals, recording a goal and two assists and creating problems for the Eagles the entire game.

“I’m surprised,” Buena Coach Trish Butterbaugh said. “Coming in, my players didn’t know anything about Chaminade. We stepped up. I’m very happy with the way my team played.

“We’ve been trying to build up offense out of the back and it worked for us.”

Buena’s offense flowed from the start, building solid attacks with players who were relaxed and never lost composure.

Toohey’s precise crossing pass from just across center midfield to the upper left side of the goal box set up Brittney McDonald for the Bulldogs’ first goal in the 17th minute.

Toohey lost her defender and one touched a cross from Ashleigh Garmon, near the six-yard box in the 31st minute, to give Buena a 2-0 halftime lead.

“That’s always been my spot,” Toohey said. “I didn’t think I was going to be that open. We did awesome today.”

The Bulldogs final goal came in the 61st minute when Toohey’s cross was deflected by an Eagle defender to Heather Lamp. Lamp one touched her shot just to the left of goalkeeper Katie Thomas for a 3-0 lead.

Chaminade’s offense didn’t get on track until Buena’s reserves entered late in the game.

The Eagles (0-1) forced Currie Hunt to make a diving save and hit the post before Lauren Nussbaum scored in injury time.

“We were out of rhythm,” Evans said. “There wasn’t any flow to our game.”