Southern Section Soccer : Freshman’s Kick Boosts La Quinta Girls

Freshman Renne Cano scored on a 25-yard kick in the 37th minute of the first half to break a 1-1 tie and lift the defending 3-A champion La Quinta High School girls’ soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Kennedy Friday in a quarterfinal game.

Cano, who began the season on the junior varsity, was starting for the first time this season. She replaced junior Lisa Miller, who broke her leg in the second half of La Quinta’s win over El Modena Tuesday.

The Aztecs (25-5-2) scored first on a goal from Kristan Harkins in the 14th minute of the first half. The Irish tied the score on a goal from Kristy DeMont. Senior defender Tresa McKee and goalkeeper Kelly Kribs, who had eight saves, headed the Aztec defense that shut out Kennedy in the second half.

The Aztecs play Arcadia in a semifinal game Tuesday.

In other girls’ 3-A action:

Walnut 3, Pacifica 1--The Mariners were eliminated by the Mustangs.

In boys’ 4-A action:

Santa Monica 2, Santa Ana 2 (Santa Monica advances on penalty kicks)--The Mustangs won the tiebreaker, 4-1.

In boys’ 3-A action

Esperanza 1, Hart 0--Brett Bish scored the only goal as the top-seeded Aztecs advanced to Tuesday’s semifinals with a victory against the Indians.

Millikan 1, Dana Hills 0--Juan Pineba scored in the 31st minute of the second half as the Rams defeated the South Coast League champion Dolphins. Goalkeeper Bryan Larkin had five saves for Dana Hills, which ended its season 19-3-2.

In boys’ 2-A action:

Brea-Olinda 1, Kepple 0--Senior halfback David Kain scored off an indirect free kick to give the top-seeded Wildcats (16-2-4) a win over the Aztecs (13-3-3) at Alhambra. Brea-Olinda, undefeated and Orange League champions the last three seasons, were lead on defense by sophomore goalkeeper Matt Swindle, who had eight saves.

Central 2, Saddleback 0--The Roadrunners were eliminated by the Spartans.