CdM on cruise control

Bryce Alderton

The last two times the Corona del Mar High and Northwood girls soccer

teams have met, the weather has played a part. Thursday it was wind,

but the gusts didn’t ground the host Sea Kings, who exacted some

revenge on the Timberwolves with a 3-1 victory to conclude the first

round of Pacific Coast League play.

Northwood defeated CdM, 3-2, on a muddied field in last year’s

regular-season finale to claim the league championship, denying the

Sea Kings a fourth consecutive league crown

“This is a big deal,” said CdM senior forward Elizabeth Almaraz,

who scored a goal and added an assist. “We wanted to let [the

Timberwolves] know we are still here and are here to fight.”

Almaraz began the scoring in the 30th minute when she headed-in a

free kick by senior defender Kinzie Kramer. Almaraz had her back to

the goal and was marked by a defender, but managed to head the ball,

which had sailed about 40 yards on the fly off of Kramer’s foot and

the wind did the rest. The ball bounced once and sailed upward --

getting a boost from the strong east-to-west gusts -- and sneaked in

just under the crossbar.

“I was in shock,” Almaraz said.

The Sea Kings (6-6-2, 3-1-1 in league) showed intensity from start

to finish, tracking down many loose balls and marking opponents with

regularity.

“[Thursday] we played to our potential for the first time this

year,” CdM Coach Bryan Middleton said. “We were smart on defense and

executed offensively. I told the girls we would have to win every

50-50 ball, that we would have to step in front to win the ball.”

Middleton’s strategy of going with the wind during the first half

paid off in a 2-0 lead.

Sophomore Taylor Fallon’s header off a corner kick from Almaraz

found the back of the net in the 37th minute.

“I figured the team that played against the wind [Northwood] in

the first half would be tired in the second half,” Middleton said.

The Sea Kings outshout the Timberwolves, 9-1, in the first half.

The Timberwolves (9-6-2, 3-2) cut CdM’s lead to 2-1 in the 52nd

minute when junior Milada Rakijian rifled a shot from about 20 yards

off a throw-in by Drew Effler.

But any thoughts of a Northwood comeback essentially disappeared

when freshman Alex Tobiesson scored her first goal this season in the

65th minute. Sophomore Kelly Morgan sent a corner kick inside the

six-yard box that Fallon headed, but was blocked by a sea of

defenders. Northwood’s Caitlin Schneider slid to clear the ball, but

Tobiesson’s foot got there first, sending the ball rolling into the

net.

Northwood fired three of its nine second-half shots and had three

corner kicks in the final 15 minutes, but couldn’t capitalize.

CdM goalkeeper Katie Schiesser made four saves, all in the second

half as Middleton made some defensive adjustments.

“I put Taylor all the way back on defense and put her sister

[Vanessa Fallon] out wide,” Middleton said. “I put Rachel Yelsey back

there, too, to help out. The defense secured the win.”

Vanessa Fallon caught up to a charging forward and knocked the

ball away to threat a potential Northwood scoring chance with less

than 10 minutes left in the second half.

The Sea Kings had three shots in the second half -- including two

by Almaraz -- off of crosses from Yelsey that sailed over the goal.

Middleton said the team has been working in practice on crosses

into the 18-yard box.

“We put those balls on target [Thursday],” Middleton said.