GIRLS’ ROUNDUP : Mission Viejo Advances on Florey’s Goal

As soon as they realized that time had expired and victory was theirs, members of the Mission Viejo High School girls’ soccer team rushed on the field to celebrate their 1-0 quarterfinal victory over Simi Valley, the top-seeded team in the Southern Section 4-A Division.

“Go ahead, enjoy the moment ladies,” Mission Viejo Coach Jim Dutton told them. “Keep this one for your memory.”

While the victory was indeed memorable, the memory of the winning goal was somewhat muddled in the mind of Jill Florey, the sophomore halfback who scored with five minutes left in the match.

“I don’t know, I blanked out, I don’t remember it at all,” Florey said. “I really have no idea.”

The fact is that Florey capped a strong, multi-player offensive attack by scoring off a header by teammate Kelly Hampton.

Seconds earlier, sophomore halfback Kenna Bertell had taken a strong shot on goal that Simi Valley goalkeeper Kim Duran deflected skyward with her fist. Florey trapped the ball and shot, but it rebounded off the post. Hampton’s header came back to Florey and she slammed it in.

With the victory, Mission Viejo, 19-3-3 and the 4-A’s eighth-ranked team, advances to the semifinals against fifth-ranked Dana Hills. Simi Valley finishes at 25-2.

Mission Viejo, which won three consecutive 4-A titles from 1986-88, was eliminated by Simi Valley in last year’s quarterfinals. The teams met in the final of the Ocean View tournament this season and Simi Valley won in a shoot-out.

Mission Viejo finished third in the South Coast League, but Dutton did not lose confidence in his team.

“I felt we could play with any team out there,” Dutton said. “We beat (third-ranked) Esperanza in the semifinals of the Ocean View tournament, and when you can stay with teams like that, you know you’re a good team.”

Two well-matched teams went all out in Friday’s match. Simi Valley’s Liz Albin, a junior defender, took a hard fall and was carried off the field and taken to Mission Regional Medical Center. X-rays disclosed a dislocated hip.

Mission Viejo outshot Simi Valley, 18-8. Tamar deFries made four saves for the Diablos, and Kim Duran made eight saves for Simi Valley.