Girls’ Soccer: Breakers win league
The first time that the Laguna Beach High girls’ soccer team played rival Estancia in league, the Turner sisters wreaked havoc on the Eagles.
Sophomore Blake Turner and freshman Reilyn combined for three goals on that night. When the teams met again Thursday night at the Breakers’ field, the Eagles did a better job of slowing them down.
But all it took was one chance to help vault the Breakers into the Orange Coast League championship.
Blake assisted Reilyn’s goal in the 29th minute as Laguna Beach beat Estancia, 1-0, to clinch at least a share of its first league title since 2014.
With two games to play in league, Laguna Beach (16-3-2, 8-0 in league) went two games up on two-time defending league champion Estancia (11-5-2, 6-2). The Breakers can clinch the outright title by winning either of their final two league games, at home against Costa Mesa on Monday and at Saddleback on Wednesday.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” Reilyn Turner said. “We were really leaving it all out there on the field, and the outcome was what we wanted and what we hoped for. It felt really good.”
After Blake passed it to her younger sister, Reilyn did the rest. She started going left at the top of the box but quickly cut back right, making the Estancia defender lose her balance. Then, she buried the shot into the left corner.
The Breakers, ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division 4, also had a couple of other chances hit off the crossbar, including a free kick by Alden Kramer moments before the goal.
In the second half, Blake Turner had a shot off the crossbar, and Shanai Auguis’ follow-up header was saved by Estancia goalie Monique Mendoza.
“I thought it was really just the last 10 or 15 minutes that we got on our heels a bit,” Laguna Beach Coach Bill Rolfing said. “They were obviously highly motivated to get the equalizer ... but we held on. We had a couple of nice chances. We had three off the post and Blake missed an easy sitter. We were getting those chances. We need to distribute around and attack a little bit more, but they’re a great team, Estancia. They win this league or we win the league.”
This year, the Breakers came out on top. Estancia, ranked No. 6 in Division 4, did press hard for the equalizer at the end with players like freshmen Desiree Mendoza and Jada Alford, and junior Isabelle Cruz. The most promising chance came in stoppage time, when senior Katarina Freiberger played the ball up to Mendoza, who touched it to Cruz. But the shot from the top of the box went wide.
Laguna Beach’s defense, led by senior center back Emily Addis and freshman keeper Cameron Russo, was able to hold on. Though Laguna Beach was held to a single goal for the first time since the league opener against Calvary Chapel on Jan. 10, the Breakers did earn their fifth shutout in eight league games.
“We went at them in that second half, we made a couple of adjustments,” said Estancia Coach Josh Juarez, whose team finishes up league against Calvary Chapel on Monday and Costa Mesa on Wednesday. “We just weren’t able to make that last pass today, to create a good opportunity. They’re a tough team. We gave up one early, and it’s tough coming back on a good team like that.”
“We held that team to one goal. If you would have told me before the game that we held that team to one goal, I would have been pretty happy with that. We just weren’t able to put any clean chances on goal.”
Freiberger was in her second game back from an ankle injury, and Juarez said senior defender Sammie Haynes (MCL) should see her first game action of the season next week.
Addis is a team captain for Laguna Beach, along with senior midfielder Christine Johnson and senior defender Greer Jacobs. Johnson said she is excited for the team’s success this season.
“It feels good,” Johnson said. “We have been striving toward it. My freshman year, we won league, and we’ve kind of been fighting to win league ever since. We had a pretty passionate game, I felt like, and we were able to hold them off.
“[Being ranked No. 2 in Division 4 is] really exciting. I feel like our team has found our groove and we just keep playing awesome. We go out there and play hard every game.”
Twitter: @mjszabo
