Girls’ Soccer: Harris shines again for HB
It is sometimes better to be mystical than good.
The Huntington Beach High girls’ soccer team would confirm this assertion after it prevailed in penalty kicks for the second straight CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoff game Friday night.
This time, the Oilers posted a 2-0 shootout advantage after playing visiting Chino Hills to a 2-2 tie after 100 minutes of the quarterfinal game, including a pair of 10-minute overtimes.
Huntington Beach posted a 4-1 edge in PKs after Tuesday’s second-round clash at San Clemente ended in a scoreless tie.
The Oilers (18-7-7 with the last two games counting as ties though they advanced in the playoffs) will play host to JSerra in the program’s first CIF semifinal contest on Tuesday.
Senior goalkeeper Rachel Harris, who stopped two PKs during Tuesday’s shootout, was once again the hero. She thwarted all four attempts by the Huskies (18-5-4) in the shootout.
Junior Alijah Oliver, who had both Oilers’ goals in regulation, converted the hosts’ first try in the shootout.
After freshman goalkeeper Leila Peregrina (inserted for the shootout after not having played in regulation or overtime) stopped two Huntington Beach PK tries, freshman forward Cina Wilson buried a low driving shot into the net to spark a wild Huntington Beach celebration.
Wilson also had the assist on the Oilers’ first goal. She directed a strong cross toward the far post, where Oliver popped it into the net.
Harris, who stopped a penalty kick in regulation, only to see the Huskies bang in the rebound to erase a 2-1 deficit in the 63rd minutes, dived to her right to bat away the first Chino Hills attempt in the shootout.
Harris, who has signed with Arkansas, darted to her left to stop the second attempt and then shuffled to her right, staying on her feet to bat away an attempt that sailed above her right shoulder.
On the fourth Chino Hills attempt, Harris launched herself to her left, diving to bat away a shot that may have been wide anyway.
“Some of those were really good shots,” Chino Hills Coach Andy Plascencia said of his players’ shootout offerings. “But [Harris] almost knew where [the ball] was going. You don’t see that very often, but I guess she’s a specialist [at stopping PKs].”
Harris, ever-confident, said she relishes the big moment. Her shootout heroics helped dull the disappointment of missing a penalty kick high off the crossbar in the fourth minute of the first overtime. The PK opportunity came after Chino Hills freshman goalie McKayla Wakefield pulled down Bianca Maccabi as she tried to advance on a loose ball rolling toward the cage from near the top of the 18-yard box.
“I just like get a feeling,” Harris said of her goal-line intuition when facing the penalty-kick shooter. “I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t have to save it; they have to make it. Credit to their goalie, she saved two and made it exciting.”
Oliver, who ran onto a booming Harris drop-kick assist that bounced, caromed off a defender, bounced again and rocketed into the net with Oliver’s one-time drive across the cage from 25 yards out, said Harris inspires confidence from her teammates.
“She’s really good at it,” Oliver said of Harris, about whom she was asked if she reads the shooter or merely guesses. “Probably a little of both. I don’t even understand it, but I’ve never see anyone as good as she is against PKs.”
Huntington Beach Coach Raul Ruiz was among those impressed and thankful for Harris’ knack for denial.
“Any time we go into a shootout, we just have to do our part,” Ruiz said. “[Watson] scored the winning goal, but it was all [Harris]. We can make some mistakes, but [Harris] keeps us going. She’s the heart and soul of this program. I have to give it to her.”
Other standouts for the Oilers included Katherine Martinez, Brianna Barnes, Delaney Brennan, Jenna Prince, Xolani Hodel, Anna Carleton, Remi Davison and Kekoa Nelson.
Huntington Beach played without top scorer, sophomore Jenna Nighswonger, who is competing with the U.S. U-18 women’s national team on an exhibition tour in England.
Chino Hills, which lost in the state playoffs last year on PKs and has missed its last eight shootout attempts, according to Plascencia, was playing without its top scorer, senior Alexis Vera, who received a red-card disqualification in the second-round win.
Twitter: @BarryFaulkner5
