Carden slays Andersen

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COSTA MESA — The soccer ball bounced off the foot of a girl named Grace and it floated into the upper right portion of the net.

Pure joy followed. Loud cheers from little girls amid gasps from adults were heard as Carden Hall celebrated a championship that could be described as improbable. Yet, on the other hand, it seemed fitting, graceful even, that the Eagles won the girls’ third- and fourth-grade gold division title on penalty kicks against Andersen a year after losing to the Dolphins in a shootout.

Improbable? Yes. Carden Hall dethroned Andersen, which had won seven straight titles. The Eagles did so in thrilling fashion, winning on the seventh penalty kick, 4-3, after playing to a 0-0 tie in regulation Sunday at the Costa Mesa Farm Complex.

Carden Hall’s Grace Vandervort connected on the game-winner setting off a wild celebration. She admitted afterward, in a funny way, that she did not believe she would make the shot. She was aware of the pressure. She knew about the Dolphins’ seven straight titles, unprecedented in the 10 years of the Daily Pilot Cup.

But she just took off and booted the ball into the net.

“I was really happy,” Vandervort said of how she felt after kicking the Eagles to a championship and ending Andersen’s reign.

Everyone from Carden Hall was happy, but most were silent on Andersen’s side. It wasn’t supposed to end like this for the Dolphins. Not when Andersen had outscored teams, 23-0, in five games heading into the final.

“This team is a lot different than last year’s team,” said Andersen Coach Dave Scott, who is in his sixth year coaching at the Pilot Cup. “This team is actually a lot more skilled than [Andersen] teams of the past.”

But Oriana Rousseau denied the Dolphins the championship trophy. She was Eagles’ goalie for the shootout. During regulation she played in the field. But afterward, she became a big reason Carden Hall won the title.

Rousseau made four saves, including a stop to set up Vandervort’s game-winner.

“It was amazing,” Rousseau said of her final save.

Rousseau’s skills weren’t solely amazing for that save. She also came up big in the Eagles’ semifinal earlier in the day.

Carden Hall had to go to penalty kicks to knock off Pegasus. In that shootout, Rousseau stopped four shots, helping Carden Hall win, 2-0, after Emma Nichols and Sophia Morris made good on their penalty kicks.

Carden Hall’s defense was just as good as Andersen’s throughout the tournament. The Eagles outscored teams, 12-1, during regulation in their six games in the tournament.

Against the Dolphins, Carden Hall proved just as strong. And, the Eagles nearly won it in regulation. With 16 minutes left, Kate Hampton fired a shot that bounced off the post. Hampton was about to strike again, but Andersen goalie Ashley Duss collected the ball. Carden Hall goalie Hunter Gantos also played well, making three key saves during regulation.

In this title game, two Newport Beach schools played to a tie after 60 minutes. And even after the standard five-attempt penalty-kick shootout they had to keep on going.

Nichols and Julia Ackerman made goals for Carden Hall, but Duss and Christina Venturini also connected for a 2-2 tie.

Then Emma Scott hit one in for Andersen for a 3-2 lead. Rousseau followed with a goal of her own before making a save that set up Vandervort’s dramatic game-winner.

“It’s great for our kids who worked so hard and played such a tough defense and a tough team game,” said Carden Hall’s Doug Nichols, one of the coaches along with Rick Taylor. “We didn’t really have any individual superstars. But we played as a team. So it’s nice to see them win as a team and celebrate as a team.”