Edison girls’ soccer routs Corona del Mar for Wave League title
High school sports can sometimes go in cycles.
Edison High girls’ soccer coach Kerry “Mac” Crooks, who has been coaching her alma mater for more than three decades, is well aware of this.
Last year, the Chargers had just three seniors and struggled. This season, they have enough seniors to fill a side — 14 in all — and appear to be peaking at just the right time.
“They just believe in each other, which is huge,” Crooks said. “It’s nice to see progress, because sometimes teams get stale. This team is just getting better, which is what you want.”
Edison left no doubt during its senior night match Wednesday night against visiting Corona del Mar.
Five different Chargers scored in a 5-0 Edison victory, as the hosts leaped past CdM to claim the outright Wave League title.
Riley Crooks, Olivia Green, Emily Whitcher, Harlee Thomas and Claire Whitcher all found the back of the net for Edison, which finished off the regular season 15-6-2 overall and 5-1 in league.
CdM, which finished in second place and also advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, is 12-7-2 overall and 4-1-1 in league. Playoff brackets will be released Saturday at 10 a.m.
Edison has to feel good headed into the playoffs after notching its fifth straight shutout. Senior goalkeepers Mackenzie Yoder and Chloe Pajaro combined on the clean slate, with Yoder leaping midway through the first half to deflect an outside shot by CdM’s Kaylee Spreen off the crossbar.
Kerry Crooks said she changed the Chargers’ formation a few games back, moving Riley — her Texas A&M committed junior daughter — up to a holding center midfielder spot. That gave an opportunity to emerging sophomore Kalea Black, alongside senior returners Hailey Clingan, Nicole Connor and Katie Ramirez.
“I feel like when ‘Mac’ switched the formation, us four on defense, we really learned to play together and work off one another,” said Clingan, bound for UC Irvine. “The longer that we’ve had together, the more we really got to know how we all played.”
Riley Crooks scored in the third minute Wednesday night on Green’s assist. The standout Green, whose 10 goals is tied with Thomas for the team lead, added her own strike in the fifth minute. From the midfield, she weaved through the CdM defense before depositing a shot in the right corner.
“Olivia Green has been on fire,” Kerry Crooks said. “She’s been very dominant.”
Riley Crooks assisted senior Emily Whitcher’s blast into the upper part of the net in the 30th minute, and Edison was firmly in control with a 3-0 halftime advantage. The Chargers were well on their way to avenging a 4-3 loss at CdM on Jan. 16.
Long-range blasts from Thomas and Claire Whitcher followed in the second half for the winners.
“We’ve been hyped up for days,” Thomas said. “We knew this was our game. I think the [previous loss to CdM] gave us a drive to really want to push and play. That’s why we scored twice in the first five, because we had this drive to score as much as we could. After we popped those first two in, we just knew we were ready.”
The Edison seniors were honored with an elaborate ceremony after the match. They included Mia Rickard, an outside back who had to undergo two anterior cruciate ligament surgeries during her high school tenure. She was the team manager the last two seasons before returning to the pitch.
“I’m just happy that I’ve been part of the program,” Rickard said. “I’ve felt a part of the team since day one.”
Corona del Mar’s other best chance to score came late in the first half, when a shot by Lilly Borland banged off the crossbar. Sea Kings coach Bryan Middleton said he is hopeful he’ll get Florida commit Kai Tsakiris, a junior midfielder who scored two goals in the first meeting with Edison, back for the postseason.
Tsakiris missed Wednesday’s match with a knee injury.
“We had more than ample opportunities in the first half,” Middleton said. “We just didn’t score, and they were fortunate tonight to bury the ball in the back of the net. They earned it. My hat’s off to Edison for playing a good game and winning league.”
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