Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy soccer blanked by rival
LOS ANGELES — It’s been a decorated rivalry in Mission League girls’ soccer for the better part of a decade, evidenced by numerous league and CIF championships won.
It’s normal for the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Harvard-Westlake squads to battle for 80 minutes and end in a tight contest.
That proved to be the case Wednesday, when the Tologs and Wolverines met in the first of two season meetings.
Harvard-Westlake received a first-half goal from KK Bishop to earn a 1-0 victory against short-handed Flintridge Sacred Heart at Occidental College.
Flintridge Sacred Heart (6-3-4, 1-1-1 in league) lost two players in the first half to injury, making it more difficult to hold talented Harvard-Westlake (8-2-1, 2-0) at bay. The Tologs lost Lauren Bolte and Amelia Andrews to injuries. That came on the heels of the Tologs not having Alexandra Ehrhart (illness) and Grace Lawlor (injury) available to compete.
“The injuries are tough, but we played through them and we held our own,” Flintridge Sacred Heart coach Mark Snashall said. “We were a little bit intimidated early in the game and we made a defensive mistake on the goal.
“I do like the way we stayed in there and we dug in and fought hard. That’s something we’ll take into the next game and hopefully we’ll get some of our players back.”
Harvard-Westlake, which won the league championship last season and is ranked No. 10 in CIF Southern Section Division I, showed its experience and fiercely protected its lead. The Wolverines limited the Tologs to three shots on goal.
Harvard-Westlake broke through in the 22nd minute, when Bishop got to a loose ball inside the box and shot the ball over Flintridge Sacred Heart starting goalkeeper Natalie Slim.
The Wolverines applied pressure during most of the second half against Tologs reserve goalkeeper Joshlyn Aguirre, who finished with four saves. Aguirre stopped Katherine Hollis in the 61st minute before sprawling to stop a shot by Ariana Miles about three minutes later.
Flintridge Sacred Heart’s best scoring opportunity came in the 55th minute on a shot by Hillary Howard from about 20 yards that struck the outside of the net.
“We worked hard, but we just came up a little short,” Howard said. “It’s tough not having some of your top players.
“We can take a lot from this game. We just have to keep practicing hard and we’ll be good. Hopefully, we’ll have a full squad the next time we play them.”
The teams will meet against Feb. 2 at Harvard-Westlake.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
