Ocean View girls’ soccer clinches third Golden West League title in four years
The Ocean View High girls’ soccer program celebrated its six seniors prior to Tuesday night’s Golden West League match against Katella.
Included in that group was the player who has netted goals in bunches throughout her four years in the program.
Isis Salazar has scored a school-record 124 goals in her four-year varsity career, including 27 this season.
But it was a pass from Salazar, not a shot, that helped the Seahawks win another league title.
She took the feed from senior Jizelle Ruiz and spun around a defender near the right corner flag before feeding a ball in front of the net. Sophomore Marisa Vo was there at the back post to head it in in the 12th minute.
The goal stood up, as Ocean View earned a 1-0 win that clinched the program’s third league championship in four seasons.
“Jizelle and I have been playing together for a long time,” Salazar said. “When she played that ball to me, I knew what I wanted to do. I knew that I was going to have runners in the middle, so once I got that turn, I knew I could depend on my teammates to be in the box.
“I don’t want to only give the credit for me for scoring goals. It’s a team sport. The defense works hard too, and the midfielders pass me the ball.”
First-year head coach Shane Palmer’s Ocean View squad improved to 12-7-1 overall, and 8-0-1 in league with one match remaining. Katella, which came into the match in second place, fell to 5-2-2 in league.
The Seahawks have been the only team to beat the Knights in league, also notching a 1-0 road win on Jan. 11.
“I feel like we had a lot of expectations for us, since we went undefeated [in league] last season,” said Ruiz, a dynamic midfielder who like Salazar is a four-year varsity player. “I feel like we just brought that today, hoping we could win again. Especially as seniors, it’s kind of emotional. Every year, we’ve been reaching for more. It’s not only the league title, but it’s going further into CIF.”
Strong defense from players like Heidi Mendoza, Noelia Diaz, Eleyna Matter and Jacssiry Munoz helped preserve the shoutout for Ocean View. Freshman goalkeeper Sydnie Enriquez made a handful of saves, including a leap to bat the ball over the goal early in the second half.
“I think it went well, considering the fact that there was a lot of pressure on all of us,” said Mendoza, herself a senior, after Ocean View notched its fifth shutout in league. “It’s very nerve-racking back there, but we managed.”
Strong goalkeeping from Katella senior Brianna Luna kept Ocean View at bay the rest of the match, though Salazar did bang a free kick off the crossbar just before halftime. Senior Natalia Delgado Gomez generated much of the offense for the visiting Knights.
Before the match, Ocean View honored its six seniors — Salazar, Mendoza, Ruiz, defensive midfielder Shelby Baker and defenders Sherlyn Hernandez and Amaya Kernell.
Ocean View closes out league at Segerstrom on Thursday before gearing up for the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs. Brackets will be released on Saturday.
The seniors would love a deep playoff run to close out their careers. Ocean View has not advanced past the second round of CIF during their time in the program.
“I feel like it’s going to be kind of hard with a lot of young people on the team, but they carry on with our energy,” Ruiz said. “If we are determined to go there, they also pick up on that energy and they try even harder. I love that about our young players on the team.”
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