Queens for a day

Bryce Alderton

The Our Lady Queen of Angels third- and fourth-grade girls soccer

team spent the first two days watching the Daily Pilot Cup unfold

before their eyes.

Needless to say the players were eager to put on the cleats and

for the whistle to blow in their gold division pool-play game against

Mariners Elementary Thursday at the Costa Mesa Farm Sports Complex.

Our Lady didn’t waste any time, scoring three goals before

halftime -- two in the first 10 minutes -- and held off a late charge

by Mariners to secure a 3-2 victory.

Mariners, which defeated Eastbluff, 7-0, in its first Pilot Cup

contest, scored its second goal with a minute left when an Our Lady

defender, trying valiantly to clear a centering pass from Madison

Wooters, deflected the ball into the net with pressure applied by

forward Allison Schelin, who was credited with the goal.

Mariners kept the heat on the final 60 seconds, keeping Our Lady

goalkeeper Adrianna Wetherall busy with a free kick and countless

other attempts coming perilously close to the goal line.

“I think we let up a bit and [Mariners] played better [in the

second half],” Our Lady assistant coach Mark Wetherall said. “We

changed our defense in the second half because we didn’t want to lose

the edge we had.”

Elisabetta Impagliazzo netted the first two goals for Our Lady on

free kicks of more than 20 yards while teammate Niki Zak scored the

third after a steal near midfield two minutes before halftime for an

early 3-0 lead.

But a more aggressive Mariners team came out in the second half,

taxing the Our Lady defense.

“We pulled [Impagliazzo] back on defense because [Mariners]

crowded her. They realized who our attackers were,” Wetherall said.

Mariners Coach Jeff Grant said he began having players mark

Impagliazzo in the middle of the first half and credited his team’s

second-half performance to attitude.

“The girls got mad and played harder,” Grant said. “They could

have easily stayed down.”

Wooters scored her third goal in two Pilot Cup games in the 39th

minute -- pool-play games are comprised of two, 25-minute halves --

cutting the Our Lady lead to 3-1. Wooters curled around a defender

and knocking it in from 10 yards out.

But Our Lady had its share of chances in the final 25 minutes,

booting six of its 10 shots in the second half and rattling Mariners’

goalkeepers.

Meaghan Kay relieved Christina Young in the Mariners’ goal and

stayed in despite getting kicked above the left eye and below the

ribs while scrambling to grab loose balls.

Play was halted four times after players went down in pain.

“[Kay] is as tough as they come,” Grant said.

Our Lady defenders Shannon Griffin, Shelby Perez and Claire

McKinnon stopped several attacks in front of goalkeeper Adrianna

Wetherall, who made three saves.

One of those saves came with seven minutes remaining in the first

half and Our Lady leading, 2-0.

Mariners advanced the ball after a foul and a centering pass found

Schelin near the left post. Schelin’s shot hit off the post and

caromed parallel to the goal line.

Griffin’s clearing attempt was knocked down and a Mariners

attacker sent the rebound whizzing toward Wetherall, who used both

arms to corral the ball.

Grant credited the defense of Lauren Clemence, Casey Thompson and

Alex Feira, along with strong front-line play from forward Madison

Grant.

Mariners has today off while Our Lady faces Eastbluff with a

chance to finish the three-team pool at 2-0.