Santos paces Adams win
Luster is often hard to come by in the girls’ third- and fourth-grade Bronze Division of the Daily Pilot Cup.
At the community youth soccer tournament’s most fundamental level, possessions quickly become scrums, positions are loosely defined, and strategy is frequently limited to the selection of beverages for halftime hydration.
But Isabella Santos put some serious shine on Adams Elementary’s 4-0 victory over Our Lady Queen of Angels on Friday at Davis Magnet School.
Santos, who opened the game at defender, but readily seeped toward the center of her team’s offense just as water flows downhill, scored a natural hat trick by producing the first three goals.
Santos opened the scoring by nailing a driving shot from the right wing that ranged close to 15 yards across the center of the field to find its way into the far portion of the net in the 12th minute.
Adams consistently controlled the run of play throughout, though the concentration of players typically left Our Lady Queen of Angels within the mix enough to make open shots difficult.
Still, Santos either found our created her own scoring opportunities, to help Adams post a rare, perhaps even unprecedented victory.
“From what I hear, that was Adams’ first win ever,” said Adams Coach Jesus Ibarra, whose team was bested 4-1 in its first game and fared even worse last year competing in the Silver Division.
“We got crushed every game last year,” Ibarra said. “Most of our girls haven’t played before.”
Santos said she plays with the Costa Mesa Flex club program, and her level of skill and athleticism left little doubt that she was far beyond her peers when it came to proficiency on the pitch.
Santos doubled the lead in the 32nd minute after collecting the ball alone in front. She then completed her hat trick in the 45th minute, settling a ball in the box and drilling it over the upraised hands of the OLQA goalkeeper, who could merely watch it sail into the upper portion of the net.
Santos, who was responsible for Adams’ lone goal on Thursday, was joined in the scoring column by teammate Guillermina Ibarra, who punched in a shot from close range in the final minute to finalize the scoring.
Adriana Dang, Alexis Pellegrin, Ashley Flores, Avery McKinley and Abigail Alfarro contributed to Adams’ offensive onslaught that produced an 18-1 advantage in shots.
Additional contributions from the winners came from Katy Escobar, Laisha Burciaga, Brianna Aguilar, Sydney Hoyt, Caelyn Kelly, Emilee Menchala, Sophia Flores and Estephanie Lorras.
Our Lady Queen of Angels, which opened the tournament with a scoreless tie, received five saves from goalkeeper Kyla Grant.
Sofia Walker and Sienna Ivey helped initiate some offense for OLQA, for which the roster also included Brooke Morris, Malia Maloney, Brooke Awad, Mairin Rufenbarger, Bethany Bogart, Edyn Rodi, Molly Nielson and Milan Games.
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Twitter: @BarryFaulkner5