McReynolds’ second-half goal leads Crescenta Valley past La Cañada
Crescenta Valley High’s Brianna McReynolds tries to control the ball under pressure from La Cañada’s Diana Carranza during Wednesday’s match.
Brianna McReynolds had a couple of golden scoring opportunities in the first half. While she didn’t get any favorable results, her fortunes changed dramatically in the second half.
McReynolds scored in the 56th minute to give host Crescenta Valley a 1-0 nonleague win against La Cañada in a season-opening match for both teams Wednesday.
McReynolds took a nifty 10-yard pass from Nicole Yim and lofted a 16-yard shot that bounced off the far right-hand post and over the goal line.
“I had some chances early and just missed one by inches,” said McReynolds, who rolled a shot toward the goal before La Cañada’s Kallie Rushing hustled toward the ball and cleared it out of the box in the 12th minute. “Every opportunity, I got closer and then I got the goal in the second half.
“On the goal, [La Cañada goalkeeper Ashley Messier] came out and I got the shot off. I thought it might go in and then it hit the post and finally went in. I thought we played a real good game and we stayed with it.”
Crescenta Valley, which finished second in the Pacific League last season, had a territorial edge in play throughout the first half. La Cañada starting goalkeeper Celine Cano-Ruiz made seven first-half saves to hold Crescernta Valley at bay.
La Cañada’s Gianna Mor had the best scoring chance for the Spartans in the first half, but her 20-yard shot sailed wide past the left post in the 30th minute.
The Falcons and Spartans, who qualified for the postseason last year, each had good scoring opportunities early in the second half. La Cañada’s Chloe Kouyoumdjian was stopped by goalkeeper Sydney Schoeller in the 48th minute. About three minutes later, Crescenta Valley’s Nikki Collins lined a shot off the crossbar.
Crescenta Valley Coach Tyraysha Peterson said the Falcons turned in a quality effort.
“I think we saw a lot of good things happen,” Peterson said. “We have a lot of different options on offense and that can leave a person like Brianna open. It’s a very good starting point while going up against a very good team in La Cañada.
“It’s just about trying to make improvements each game and that comes from tracking down the ball and getting back on defense. With Brianna, I’ve seen growth with her skills from last season to now. She’s also got a lot of people helping her and that’s when you can have a lot of different options in place.”
La Cañada first-year Coach Kevin Neumeier said the Spartans, who were missing several players for various reasons, held their own.
“It’s the first game and I love the effort they put in,” said Neumeier, who is the program’s third coach in as many seasons. “The biggest thing I ask of them is to put in the effort and they did that.
“Everything else will come. We have a lot of things we can learn and build off from the game. We have nine games over the next two weeks, so we’ll get a better idea of where we stand then. We’ll look to get things figured out before [Rio Hondo League] starts.”
Messier finished with six saves. Schoeller made three saves after replacing Nicole Jabourian, who played the first half.
