Huntington Beach girls’ soccer battles back to stun Edison
The Huntington Beach High girls’ soccer team seems to be getting into its groove at just the right time.
The Oilers have earned two big Surf League wins this week. They upset league champion Los Alamitos 2-1 at home on Monday. Two days later, they won at Edison by the same score.
Huntington Beach’s reward is that the Oilers have earned a third match this week, one not previously scheduled.
The Oilers will play Edison again on Friday at 3 p.m. at Fountain Valley High. This tiebreaker match is necessary because Huntington Beach and Edison finished tied for second in the league, each with 3-3 records.
The winner of Friday’s match will take the Surf League’s second automatic spot into the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, while the loser will have to apply for an at-large berth into the postseason.
Junior forward Jordan Bailey scored the match-winning goal for Huntington Beach (14-6-3) against Edison, after sophomore Jaiden Anderson took a corner kick from the right in the 77th minute.
Edison senior goalkeeper Allyssa Plotkin punched the ball away from the goal line, then made another save at close range. But the Chargers were unable to clear it, and Bailey stuck it in.
Just minutes later, Huntington Beach had completed its comeback after it fell behind early in the second half.
“They’ve been showing a lot of heart, a lot of resiliency, and that’s why I’m so proud of them,” Oilers coach Raul Ruiz said. “They really work hard. It was just press [defense], and we just switched a little bit where we were more offensive than anything. Our game plan was being tactical, cautious, not making mental mistakes. But when we went down 1-0, there’s no tomorrow. We just had to go for the win.”
Edison (13-8-2) had taken the advantage in the 45th minute. Freshman Riley Crooks, the daughter of Chargers coach Kerry Crooks, made a long throw-in from the left sideline. It connected with senior Alex Wood, who put a low, screaming cross-cage shot past the goalkeeper.
Huntington Beach responded in the 65th minute, after earning a free kick near midfield. Alex Nashed took the kick, which was then headed backward by an Edison defender. It found the feet of Anderson, who was able to score her second goal in as many matches.
Kerry Crooks said it was a defensive miscommunication.
“[Anderson] took advantage of it,” Crooks said. “That’s what good forwards do. She’s all over the place. She plays on my daughter’s [Slammers FC] club team, so we know her pretty well.
“That’s their bread and butter, set pieces, and they were able to put them away. You get enough of them, and they’re going to put them away, right? Huntington’s always been dangerous. Jaiden’s very dangerous up top.”
On senior night, Edison honored its 15 seniors following the match. But Huntington Beach made sure they would have to play one more time before the postseason began.
Huntington Beach senior defender Lexi Muche said the team has come together since a disappointing 1-0 loss at Corona del Mar on Jan. 27.
“We were trying to stay super-positive and keep our heads up after our loss against CdM,” Muche said. “It was really good to beat Los Al after we’ve lost to them the past few times. After that win, I guess that brought us a lot of energy coming into [Wednesday].”
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