Steve VirgenA huge sigh of relief preceded...

Steve Virgen

A huge sigh of relief preceded the yells of celebration for the

Andersen No. 1 third- and fourth grade girls soccer team. The

Dolphins successfully defended their Daily Pilot Cup title, and they

definitely earned this championship after fending off a rambunctious

Harbor Day squad, 3-2, Sunday at the Costa Mesa Farm Complex.

Andersen went up, 3-1, with 18 minutes left after McKenzie Brown’s

second goal of the game and then had to hold on for the win. Harbor

Day outshot Andersen, 4-2, in the final 18 minutes and Kathryn Conner

scored with two minutes left after Chelsea Barth set her up with an

accurate lead pass for Conner’s breakaway.

“That was an awesome game,” Andersen Coach Claudio Venturini said.

“I think this was the best game of the tournament. They had just as

much chance as winning this as we did. At the end, they were coming

back and we were trying to hold them off. We feel very fortunate that

we came out ahead and brought the title back to Andersen because we

were defending the cup. It wasn’t an easy game.”

The Dolphins dominated the first 20 minutes of the 25-minute first

half and outshot Harbor Day, 9-2, before halftime. In the 17th

minute, Brown was tripped in the box during her breakaway, setting up

a penalty kick, which she made for a 1-0 lead. Then two minutes

later, Andersen scored again after Anna Venturini finished a nice

pass from Sarah Craig, putting the Dolphins ahead, 2-1.

However, with two minutes left in the half, Kaylee O’Connor scored

an unassisted goal for the Seahawks. She broke through Andersen’s

defense and struck the top, right portion of the net. Less than a

minute later, O’Connor nearly scored again on a breakaway, but

Andersen goalie Lindsey Luke came up with the save.

Seven minutes into the second half, Brown gave the Dolphins the

3-1 lead after some nifty footwork. She dribbled through three

defenders to create open space and finished the attack from about 15

feet out.

Luke, who recorded three saves, produced two crucial stops in the

second half. With 15 minutes left, Conner went one-on-one with Luke.

Conner aimed for the lower, right corner, but Luke slid and slapped

the ball away. The ball almost rolled into the net, but Luke quickly

rose from sliding and extended toward the ground again to cover the

ball.

With eight minutes remaining, Luke made another

highlight-reel-type save. After a Harbor Day indirect kick from about

10 yards out, the ball bounced off an Andersen player and appeared to

be headed for the net, but Luke left her feet to catch the ball in

midair.

Luke was supported by a defense that included sweeper Hanna Rome,

who cleared the ball at opportune moments.

“We were coming back,” Harbor Day co-coach Jim Conner said of the

second half. “We scored the last goal, which is a sign of a good

team. I was very proud of my girls. [The Dolphins are] a very good

team and they deserve to win. But, I think we gave them a good game.

We gave them a scare.”

Harbor Day goalie Sarah Cox also recorded a few show-stopping

saves. She finished with 11 saves, including six in the first half

and three in the first 15 minutes. In a three-minute span, she

stopped three shots, two of which were one-on-one situations.

Andersen entered the championship game having scored 23 goals and

allowing just one, which came in the semifinal. The Dolphins allowed

just two shot attempts in three games, and then defeated Mariners

Christian, 5-1, in a semifinal Sunday morning. Mariners Christian

managed to get four shots on goal.

Jordan Dillion scored two goals for the Dolphins, while Brown and

Anna Venturini added one goal each. Luke recorded three saves.

“Three of the girls play in club,” Claudio Venturini said of his

Andersen team. “The rest of the girls play in [AYSO] all-stars, so

this a very good group.”

Harbor Day, also coached by Paul O’Connor, reached the

championship game after winning an exciting semifinal, 3-2, over

Kaiser No. 1. The Seahawks overcame a 2-1 halftime deficit, as Ally

Brahs scored with 10 minutes left to tie, and with five minutes left,

Conner netted the game-winner. Brahs assisted on Conner’s

game-winning goal. Conner also scored in the first half.