CdM’s title hopes slip away

Bryce Alderton

Northwood High’s soccer field has a little less volume today.

Much of the muddied turf is caked to the jerseys of Corona del Mar

High (10-5-2, 7-2-1 the Pacific Coast League) and Northwood’s girls

soccer players as they stomped, stumbled and slid in quest of a

league championship. By the final whistle, the Timberwolves had

handled the mire and muck a little better and prevailed, 3-2, denying

the Sea Kings their fourth consecutive league title.

First-year Northwood Coach Steven Tatone dove head first onto the

middle of the field following the victory, splotching his white polo

shirt with mud, much like his team’s uniforms.

“Those little turkeys, they held me to my word,” said a jubilant

Tatone. “They said I had to slide head first if we won. I feel bad

for (CdM). This is a sloppy field and (CdM) is such a good team.”

Thursday’s conditions made dribbling and kicking difficult, as

players would occasionally fall backward after booting a ball.

CdM defender Paige Janes, bound for USC next season, was one of

the more dirtied Sea Kings, constantly chasing down balls Northwood

attackers kicked into the zone.

“They should not have scheduled a game so important to be played

on a field like this,” said Janes, a four-year varsity member. “(On a

drier field) people wouldn’t be falling and there would be less

chance of injury. We normally pass the ball around a lot more and we

were taken out of that today.”

Northwood (13-4-4, 8-1-1) usually plays its home games at nearby

Meadowood Park, on a regulation-sized field (120 by 80 feet), but the

city closed the field due to the rain, Tatone said.

“(Northwood) would hit the ball from 90 yards out and hope (CdM

goalkeeper Rachel Waters) would make a mistake,” Middleton said. “We

needed to take more shots and take direct kicks toward the goal.”

Waters played in her first game in more than a month since

injuring her left knee in a loss to Costa Mesa. Thursday she made

three saves, all in the second half, as Northwood applied the

pressure.

Immediately after CdM senior Alivia Mazura played a rebound off

her own free kick and belted the ball into the top left of the goal

to tie the game in the 59th minute, Northwood’s Amber Bettenhausen

shifted the momentum back to the host’s side. The junior forward

burst through the middle of the field with Janes trailing and Waters

coming out to deter her momentum. Waters got two hands on the ball,

but Bettenhausen kicked it loose and shot it into the left side for a

2-1 Northwood lead in the 60th minute.

“I guess I didn’t have possession, according to the referee,”

Waters said. “It hurts that Northwood got lucky when I came out like

that.” Janes said she thought Waters had possession.

Middleton was perturbed with the officiating, citing an alleged

hand ball in the 18-yard box in the second half that wasn’t called.

An official issued the CdM coach a yellow card in the 64th minute,

following Northwood’s third goal (by Leah Geisinger) to make it, 3-1.

“I have no idea what the yellow card was for,” Middleton said.

Referees left without comment.

CdM got to within 3-2 in the 36th minute. A free kick toward the

Northwood goal by Janes, who played solid defense along with senior

Lauren Loe and junior Kinzie Kramer, landed in front of the net, only

to be kicked in by a sliding defender with CdM’s Brook Burgner

applying pressure.

The remaining five minutes, much like the entire game, saw slide

kicks from both teams and players trying to keep their balance.

Mazura, Kramer and sisters Elisha and Kelly Morgan, sloshed their way

up-field, but couldn’t get another clear shot at Northwood goalkeeper

Allison Wing.

CdM defeated Northwood, 2-1, last month and both teams are headed

into the CIF Playoffs next week. CdM competes in Division II.

“This will make us stronger,” said Janes about Thursday’s loss.

“This is practice for the big enchilada.”