Uteda, Gonzalez lead Flintridge Prep girls’ soccer honor roll
For a season that stands as the greatest in the chronicle of Flintridge Prep girls’ soccer, it’s likely that a run to a CIF Southern California Regional title match and winning a first-ever CIF Southern Section Division III championship will long be remembered most.
But before the Rebels’ memorable playoff push came their utter dominance of the Prep League en route to a third consecutive league crown.
Thus it comes as little surprise that the All-Prep League team is littered with Rebels, led by Prep League Offensive Player of the Year Julia Gonzalez and Prep League Defensive Player of the Year Lindsey Uteda.
Uteda was a senior goaltender who captained an overlooked yet outstanding defense and Gonzalez was a senior forward who led the Rebels’ storied and prolific offense.
“It really means a lot, just being a senior and everything. It was a sweet ending,” Uteda said. “It’s something I’m going to look back on and cherish … all the games and the accolades and how great this year was.
“It was special.”
Joining Gonzalez and Uteda, junior forward Helen Schaefer, freshman forward Makenna Dominguez and senior midfielder Mona Cesario earned first-team selections while a quintet of Rebels were perhaps surprisingly confined to the second team in junior midfielder Mika Celeste, junior defender Caitlyn Fong, junior defender Yasmeen White, junior defender Arielle Guzman and junior defender Jenna Mijares.
Flintridge Prep (26-5-2) went a perfect 10-0 in league, extending its league winning streak to 15 and obliterated the opposition, outscoring its league foes by a combined 74-6 margin with seven shutouts.
The league title was really never in doubt as second-place Mayfield was 4-2-4 in league.
“We still worked hard, but I think we were very confident,” Gonzalez said of league play.
Gonzalez had a season for the ages in her senior campaign, tallying what is believed to be an area-record of 50 goals along with 16 assists. Gonzalez’ 116 points were tied for fifth in the nation, according to Maxpreps.com, and tops in California, while her 50 goals were tied for fifth in the country, as well, and tied for the top spot in the state with Truckee’s Ava Seelenfreund.
It marked the fourth-straight first-team honor for Gonzalez, who claimed her second league offensive player of the year accolade after winning it in 2016.
“I am really thankful that I was able to finish that way,” Gonzalez said. “I was just proud of myself that I was able to work hard all four years.”
Spectacularly consistent, Gonzalez scored in 27 of the 32 games she played and was crucial to the team in the early going when a handful of starters were missing due to injury. In league, she shined as did all of the Rebels with 22 goals and eight assists.
“She was just so consistent in the beginning that it kept us afloat,” Rebels coach Esteban Chavez said. “And, obviously, 50 goals. And it wasn’t 50 goals against just bad teams. She scored against everybody.”
The Rebels tallied 164 goals, the fourth-best mark in Southern Section history, but the defense was stellar, as well. Only 33 goals were allowed on the season and Uteda posted 13 shutouts in net.
“Being noticed isn’t really the goal,” Uteda said. “Defense is really a thankless position and I’ve kind of always known that.”
After three straight nods on the all-league second team, Uteda’s defensive player of the year honor comes after a season in which her play and leadership were equally excellent.
“Lindsey was so big for us in the back,” Chavez said. “She has just great leadership skills. She showed that all season by organizing the whole defense. On top of that, she’s a really, really great goalkeeper.”
Despite missing the first 12 games of the season, Schaefer continued her amazing career with 35 goals and 28 assists, which averaged out to a staggering 4.7 points per game. Up until the Rebels’ 3-2 overtime loss to Academy of Our Lady of Peace in the CIF Southern California Division III Regional championship, Flintridge Prep had won 22 straight games, which tied for the sixth-best streak in Southern Section history. Schaefer amazingly was there for the last 20 of those wins, so the Rebels’ record with her on the field was 20-1 and she scored in the first 20 straight games she played in.
“I was so happy,” Gonzalez said of Schaefer’s return. “Everything just went back to normal. We went right back to how we played before. She read my mind, I read her mind.”
Schaefer’s 98 points were the third-highest mark in the state.
“She was so consistent with goals and assists and the plays she made,” Chavez said. “She’s just outstanding.”
Cesaro concluded her decorated days at Prep with her fourth straight first-team nod. She had three goals and 11 assists, but her true prowess didn’t show up in the stats as she was often the one who started a scoring run whether an assist was had by her or not.
“The bottom line is so much of our attack starts with her or goes through her,” Chavez said. “She’s a silent assassin. She’s just so big for us.”
Dominguez made a stunning debut for the Rebels, as the ninth-grader tallied 28 goals and 24 assists.
“Throughout the season, she really improved,” Gonzalez said. “She was really such a key part of our team and a key part of our success.”
Including Gonzalez and Uteda, who were also given spots on the first team as is traditional in the Prep League, Flintridge Prep had 10 all-league selections, five on the first team and five on the second. It was more than any other team, but certainly not by as wide a margin as the dominance that played out on the field. Mayfield had seven selections (three on the first, four on the second), third-place Pasadena Poly had five picks, as did fourth-place Westridge, with fifth-place Chadwick checking in with four and last-place Firebaugh with just one.
Just going simply by statistics, Celeste’s omission from the first team might well be an all-time all-league injustice. She finished the season with 23 goals and 30 assists. Celeste’s 30 assists led California, according to Maxpreps, and tied for fifth in the nation.
“How can you keep Caitlyn and Mika off the first team?” Chavez said. “We should’ve had [more selections], that’s the right thing to do.
“I’m sorry, I’m just so disappointed. Yasmeen, too, and Arielle.”
Chavez’ major argument centered around whether the league should concentrate on parity among the selections or making certain the most worthy selections were made no matter how many were on the same team.
Fong, despite playing defense, was often an offensive catalyst as she scored six goals and dished off 20 assists.
For a second straight season, Guzman (three assists) earned a slot on the second team where she was joined by White (one goal, one assist), who provided a powerful leg and perhaps the Rebels’ most physical presence, and Mijares, who tallied five goals and five assists.
Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon
