Girls’ Soccer: CdM wins league
All they do is win, win, win, no matter what.
Well, except when they tied Beckman High and University to open Pacific Coast League play. But as far as losing, the members of the Corona del Mar girls’ soccer team haven’t done it all season.
Since those two ties to open league, the Sea Kings have rattled off seven straight victories.
The latest one, a 1-0 victory over two-time defending champion Northwood on Tuesday at CdM, netted the Sea Kings their first Pacific Coast League championship since 2014.
Freshman Trinity Rodman scored in the 32nd minute as CdM (19-0-3, 7-0-2 in league) moved into outright first place with a game to go, ahead of Northwood (11-8-4, 7-2). The Sea Kings close out league play on Thursday at home, and a win against last-place Irvine clinches the outright title.
“What we talked about today defensively was each individual on the field, whether you’re a forward or a defender, winning your individual battle,” CdM Coach Bryan Middleton said. “I believe every single one of my players won their individual battles today on the field. That, and communication and good team defense, got the victory for us. We create enough opportunities in the game that we’re going to score a goal, so if we can shut down a team and win our individual battles, it’s going to get us a championship.”
Even if the Sea Kings and Timberwolves finish tied in league, CdM has the tiebreaker. Tuesday’s victory was a convincing one as CdM dominated scoring opportunities, even playing without freshman midfielder Megan Chelf, who leads the team with 13 goals and 13 assists. Chelf had to sit out after picking up two yellow cards in last week’s win at University.
Rodman made sure that CdM still scored even without her good friend and club teammate. She earned a free kick from about 25 yards out, and slightly to the right of the goal. Northwood put up a four-player wall, but Rodman’s shot went above that wall and into the center of the net past keeper Jazmine Maxwell.
“She placed it perfectly,” Middleton said. “She doesn’t try too hard. Just enough to make sure it’s on target, with enough pace that the keeper can’t get to it.”
It was the 13th goal of the season for Rodman, who now shares the team lead with Chelf. She actually didn’t place the ball where she wanted it, but the Sea Kings would take it.
“I was trying to hit it at the far post, and it kind of went in the middle,” Rodman said. “But the keeper wasn’t there, so it worked out. It got there.”
Senior Taylor Rosen and junior Ava McKenzie kept creating other opportunities to score. One of the best came in the 54th minute, when McKenzie crossed the ball to Elizabeth Lamie in the box. Lamie took time to gather for her shot, giving Northwood’s Ashley Roesk just enough time to block it.
On another sequence, Alex Ianni played the ball to Rosen, who crossed it to McKenzie. But the header went straight to the Northwood keeper.
That was OK. Corona del Mar, the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 2, shut down the Timberwolves defensively with the overall play of center back Alyssa McKenzie, and with Katharine Caston marking Kaylee Nguyen. Nguyen scored the Northwood goal in the teams’ first meeting, a 2-1 CdM victory at Portola High on Jan. 24.
Emma Scott and Julie Bartz also assisted the defensive effort for CdM, with Ally Lozano making four saves.
Rosen said it felt great to beat Northwood and win the league title. Of active players for CdM, only senior midfielder Leah Givant knew what that felt like before this season, as a freshman on varsity three years ago.
“Both teams came out giving 100%, and it was just whoever wanted it more,” Rosen said. “We did, in the end. Trinity scored, which got us fired up, and then we just held them off the whole time.
“Going into playoffs, we have so much forward momentum from all of the wins we’ve been having. That’s definitely going to help us ... I think the biggest attribute to how well we’re doing is how close we are. We’re all family.”
Twitter: @mjszabo
