Los Alamitos girls’ soccer beats Edison to clinch league title
Los Alamitos High girls’ soccer coach Pat Rossi has a young team this year, with a number of freshmen in key positions.
Two of the more talented freshmen were missing Tuesday heading into a big Sunset League game against Edison. Colby Barnett and Tabitha LaParl were both in Florida in U.S. national team training camps, Rossi said. Barnett scored the game-winning goal late in the second half when the Griffins met the Chargers the first time in league.
This time, Los Alamitos turned to another freshman to provide the winner that lifted the host Griffins to their first league title since the 2012-13 season.
Freshman defender Khalia Gathright scored off a corner kick in the 45th minute as Los Alamitos dethroned defending champion Edison with a 1-0 win, clinching the outright league title with two games remaining.
Los Alamitos, ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, improved to 22-2-2 overall and 6-0-2 in league. With three points for a win in the Sunset League and one for a tie, the Griffins have 20 points, a total that second-place Marina (4-3-1 in league) can’t catch.
Edison (7-6-6 overall) and Huntington Beach, both 3-3-2 in league, are tied for third place.
Gathright said she scored her second goal of the season, and first in league. She made the most of the chance after Los Alamitos senior captain Morgan Meza served in a corner kick from the right. Griffins sophomore Jayden Newkirk headed the ball toward the goal, but an Edison defender was there to knock it back out. After a brief scrum in front of the net, Gathright stuck it in.
Edison coach Kerry Crooks saw the Griffins clinch the league title off a corner kick, just like her team did against Los Alamitos last year. The situation was admittedly less suspenseful than last year, as the Chargers got their goal deep in overtime in the league finale.
“Turnabout is fair play,” Crooks said. “It’s always a good competition to play Los Al. They’re definitely having a fabulous season, and we’re just kind of coming into our own. I think we’re playing good soccer, we’ve just been struggling to score most of the year. Defensively, we hold our own. We just need to get into CIF and get hot.”
Senior goalkeeper Amy Kirk (three saves) and junior center back Serena Starks played a big part in the defensive effort Tuesday, along with senior captain Madi Macias, sophomores Kelli McKay and Abby McCollam and senior Megan Blatt.
The Griffins dominated the run of play early in the first half, but Edison started gaining momentum later in the half. Junior Chloe Helenihi, who Crooks subbed in midway through the half, created a couple of corner kick chances for Macias, but Edison couldn’t connect on them.
Edison had fewer opportunities in the second half. The last decent one came in the 77th minute, as Alexis Komisza played a quick ball ahead to Rachelle Elve. But Los Alamitos freshman keeper Reezyn Turk, who made four saves in the game, came out to grab the ball.
“It wasn’t the prettiest game,” Crooks said. “I thought the first half, we played a lot better than the second half. … When everything else is even, the set pieces will decide it.”
Rossi’s squad has just three seniors, and he said one of them, captain Vanessa Millsaps, is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The Griffins were the favorites to win league, but Rossi knows that doesn’t always mean much.
“Our league is so competitive,” Rossi said. “We’ve had two ties against the last-place team [Newport Harbor], and they were legit ties.”
But the Griffins’ two wins over rival Edison helped them clinch their first league title in five years.
The Chargers play host to Newport Harbor on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Twitter: @mjszabo
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