Lambrakis’ shot rallies Newport

Chris Yemma

In order for frequent matchups to become rivalries, the win/loss

ratio must be fairly equal.

Newport Harbor High girls soccer junior Stephanie Lambrakis got

her team rolling in that direction last Thursday, with just one swipe

of the foot.

The shot, from about 18 yards out in the middle of the field, with

two minutes remaining in the game, gave visiting Aliso Niguel, then

ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division I, its first Sea View

League loss of the season.

Now, the Wolverines are ranked No. 1, oddly enough, but their

record is still tainted from one swing of Lambrakis’ foot, a shot

that gave Newport Harbor a 2-1 victory and its first win over Aliso

in more than four years.

And, so, a league rivalry was reborn.

“It’s definitely becoming a big rivalry,” Lambrakis said. “Last

year we tied them, but that’s the closest we’ve come in at least four

years.”

Lambrakis’ goal in the 78th minute provided the biggest win for

the Sailors all season, while also carving a notch near the top of

the outside midfielder’s list of best career shots.

Lambrakis, one of three captains among the Sailors’ squad, said

she felt like everything was moving in slow motion just before her

shot and directly after it lofted into the upper-right corner.

The junior saw the whole scene unfold as if she was in “The

Matrix.”

“It just went in really slow,” she said. “I looked up, and I saw

Krystal [Wright] running at me. Everyone came running at me and we

all just hugged in a big circle.”

One clean swipe of the foot swiped a perfectly clean league record

off Aliso Niguel’s books. And sometimes, it’s just about taking down

the Goliath.

“Everyone was ecstatic; the stands were pretty full for girls

soccer,” Newport Coach Phil D’Agostino said. “Everyone went nuts. It

was huge -- the biggest game of the season, no two ways about it.”

It was also a personal accomplishment for first-year coach

D’Agostino, who had previously never beaten the Wolverines. In the

first meeting between the two schools on Jan. 11, the Sailors scored

the first goal, but Aliso came back and won, 3-1.

On his second shot at Aliso, though, D’Agostino was not

intimidated by the highly ranked Wolverines.

“I knew we had a chance,” he said. “Our team’s play may be

erratic, but when we’re firing on all cylinders we’re tough to stop.

I always thought we had a shot at winning.”

For Lambrakis, the Sailors second-leading goal scorer behind

junior Amy Klippert, and the rest of the Newport team, the win

provided a boost of confidence while also raising the expectations

for the rest of this year and next season.

Before the win, Lambrakis said the team’s goal this season was to

make it to the first round of the CIF Division I playoffs. Now, she

said, it’s to advance past the first round.

“This definitely sets some higher goals,” Lambrakis said. “Now we

want to get past the first round and finish first or second in

league.”

And if the Sailors achieve their new goals, Lambrakis will be

right there in the mix of things.

“She’s one of the most serious players on the team,” D’Agostino

said. “She’s a leader on the team and she’s one of the fastest

outside midfielders in the league.

“She’s able to cut back really well, she’s quick on her feet --

she’s multi-tool player.”