Girls soccer: CdM limps into quarterfinal

Steve Virgen

OAK PARK - The Corona del Mar High girls soccer team could be

skiing in the mountains with friends, but instead the Sea Kings are

traveling to the Ventura area and will play Oak Park in a quarterfinal of

the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs today at 5 p.m.

The Sea Kings (14-4-7) are immersed in Playoff Week, rather than Ski

Week, like the rest of their peers. And in their quarterfinal matchup

with the Eagles (21-4), injuries and playing on the road are great

obstacles, which makes this game CdM’s biggest challenge of the season.

Senior co-team captain Alison Brawner and junior forward Alivia Mazura

are nursing injuries and will be subjects of game-time decisions. Brawner

is more likely to play, while Mazura said there is too much pain when she

runs and she plans to sit out.

“We’ve suffered some big injuries and we’re on the road, so it’s a

matter of how we respond to all that,” CdM Coach Ron Evans said. “Some of

the other girls have to step it up.”

CdM, the three-time Pacific Coast League champion seeded No. 4, also

lost Lauren Loe for the season when she fractured her leg while playing

University in league play. In addition, senior midfielder Kristin Hanson,

who scored three goals in the 6-0 first-round win over Los Altos

Saturday, is battling nagging shoulder pains, and senior Allison Harvey

has been pacing herself -- sitting out the first half the past two games

-- because of pain in her leg.

Meanwhile, Oak Park, the Tri-Valley League champion seeded No. 5,

enters today’s contest with a young, vibrant squad. Coach Ted Eggleston’s

Eagles, feature 11 freshmen, five of whom start, two sophomores and just

two seniors. They are led by junior forward Courtney Crane and senior

forward Amy Poyer. Freshman Ashley Walsh, regarded as the team’s most

valuable player, will miss today’s action after two yellow cards in the

second-round win over South Pasadena (1-1 regulation; 8-7 in penalty

kicks).

“They have never been past the quarterfinals and we hope it stays the

same,” Evans said. “Crane is their leading scorer and they have a young

defense. They split time with two goalkeepers, a freshman (Shaina

Stevens) and a junior (Krista Clinton). They have a sophomore sweeper and

a freshman stopper. On offense, they tend to finish their scoring

chances.”

CdM will attempt to offset the Eagles’ offense with freshman

goalkeeper Rachel Waters and a solid back row of juniors Paige Janes,

Kinzie Kramer and Lauren Shepherdson and freshman Vanessa Fallon, who has

replaced Loe.

Hanson leads the midfield, which includes juniors Elisha Morgan and

Jenny Long, who teamed up for a goal in the 2-0 win at Ganesha Wednesday,

while senior Jaclyn Thayer, Harvey and Mazura star as forwards.

Today’s winner advances to the semifinal, facing the winner of the

Orange Lutheran at No. 1 seed Harvard-Westlake matchup.