El Camino Real girls’ soccer team plays unfamiliar role

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It’s hard to fathom El Camino Real, winner of seven straight City Section girls’ soccer titles, as an underdog. Yet halfway through their season that’s precisely the position the Conquistadores find themselves in.

Katie Etcher’s breakaway goal in the waning moments of Friday’s game against Granada Hills might’ve been the biggest of the season for a young team that’s had trouble finding the back of the net. It not only kept the Conquistadores (3-8-2, 2-2) in the thick of the West Valley League race, but also restored some much-needed moxie.

‘We’ve outshot everyone, we just can’t score,’ Coach Eric Choi said. ‘Our record is deceiving because the truth is we haven’t been healthy and we’re still trying to put the pieces together.’

Two important pieces, sisters Lindsey and Chelsea Forte, recently returned from knee injuries. Lindsey, a senior forward headed to Stanford, has been back for three games and Chelsea, a junior defender, for four. Striker Megan Quinn remains sidelined with a torn ACL but could be back for the playoffs.

Throughout its unprecedented run, El Camino Real has repeatedly tested itself against the region’s best and this winter is no exception with the likes of Thousand Oaks, Chaminade, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Aliso Niguel, Los Alamitos, Arcadia and Kamehameha (Hawaii) all on the schedule.

Asked just how good his ‘underdog’ Conquistadores are, Choi professed:

‘Good enough to make a run for the [City] championship.’

-- Steve Galluzzo, guest blogger

-- Image from www.elcaminorealalumni.com/