Girls’ Soccer: Harris saves HB

IRVINE — Some soccer goalies may start thinking about penalty kicks and get apprehensive.

But, to Huntington Beach High senior Rachel Harris, between the pipes is the place to be.

“I love shootouts,” Harris said. “I just think of it as, I don’t have to save it, they have to make it. If it comes to me and I save it, great, but the pressure’s more on them than me.”

Make no mistake, there was pressure on Harris in the first round of the Excalibur Tournament on Tuesday afternoon. The Oilers needed her to step up in the shootout against Trabuco Hills, not only with her saves but also by taking a shot.

Harris came through in both situations, helping lift Huntington Beach to a 1-1 (3-2 on PKs) victory at Orange County Great Park that helped the Oilers make the “Sweet 16” of the prestigious tournament.

Huntington Beach will play Anaheim Canyon in its next game on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Win, and the Oilers will be in the tournament quarterfinals at 5 p.m. Lose, and Huntington Beach will play in a ninth-place bracket game at 3:30.

Harris, a University of Arkansas commit, blocked the first two Trabuco Hills penalty kicks in the shootout and also converted Huntington Beach’s fourth kick, just into the right corner. The Oilers, down 2-1 at the time, needed her to convert to keep the shootout alive.

Trabuco Hills’ next shot off went of the right post, keeping the shootout score at 2-2. Huntington Beach senior Katie Martinez then came through, converting her kick into the left side of the net despite a partial deflection by Trabuco Hills goalie Sophia Garrido.

The Mustangs’ last chance to tie the shootout again came and went, as the kick went well over the goal. Harris’ teammates stormed her, and the Oilers advanced.

“With all due respect to the opponents, Rachel is known to block PKs, even in her younger club days,” Huntington Beach Coach Raul Ruiz said. “At the high school level, we’ve had a great run with her. Every time we go to PKs, there’s no doubt that she will save us.”

Junior Alijah Oliver also converted a PK for Huntington Beach (8-2-4). Oliver, Harris, Martinez and junior defender Brianna Barnes are the Oilers’ team captains this year.

Huntington Beach, the two-time defending Sunset League champion, is doing well early in the year. The Oilers’ only two losses so far are to Santa Margarita and Tesoro, the teams that met for the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title last year.

But Huntington Beach fell behind in the sixth minute against Trabuco Hills. It took until the first minute of the second half for the Oilers to equalize, when sophomore Jenna Nighswonger played a cross in from the right. Freshman Makenna McGill finished into the back of the net.

The Oilers had several more good chances to end it in regulation. Late in the second half, senior forward Hannah Wilson received a cross in the box, but Trabuco Hills’ goalie was able to make the save. Then, with moments remaining, sophomore midfielder Anna Carleton’s shot from near the upper-left part of the box glanced off the crossbar.

Following regulation, the teams moved from field No. 2 at the Great Park to No. 5 for the shootout. Then it was time for Harris, who made two saves in regulation, to come up big.

Harris blocked the first two Trabuco Hills penalty kick shots before Krystin Brown scored for the Mustangs into the upper-left corner, a ball that Harris still deflected. Lauren Negrete then scored for Trabuco Hills (3-4-2), temporarily giving her team a 2-1 lead before Harris made her shot.

Huntington Beach has reason to be motivated in the next round, too. The Oilers lost to Canyon, 5-0, in the second round of the Excalibur Tournament last year.

They’re trying to make a run like they did two years ago, when they advanced to the Excalibur semifinals and finished third.

“So far, so good,” Ruiz said. “Like I told the girls, we’ll go as far as they take us. We have great team chemistry and it’s a great group of players. Technically, we’re gifted, we’ve just got to make sure we come out there and play with a little more fire, especially in the early parts of the first half.”