Simi Valley Again Finishes Second After 3-1 Loss in Girls’ Soccer Final

When you’re No. 2, you’re supposed to try harder. But for the Simi Valley High soccer program, finishing second apparently has become habit-forming.

The Simi Valley girls gave the school its third consecutive runner-up trophy Friday when they fell to top-ranked El Toro, 3-1, in the Southern Section 4-A Division championship match at Gahr High in Cerritos.

The Pioneer girls were edged in overtime by Capistrano Valley, 4-3, in the 1989 final and, last year, the Simi Valley boys dropped a 1-0 decision to Palos Verdes.

For Simi Valley Coach Mark Johnson, Friday’s result was not surprising.

“That’s why we ranked them No. 1 (in the coaches poll), because we figured they would win it all along,” Johnson said of El Toro. “El Toro was hot tonight and we were a little on the cold side.”

Despite trailing, 3-0, with four minutes to play, it looked as if Simi Valley, the division’s third-ranked team, might mount a comeback.

Liz Albin, a thorn in El Toro’s side all night, drilled a shot into the lower-left corner of the net to spoil the shutout. It was the 17th goal of the season for Albin, who took five of Simi Valley’s nine shots on goal. But the Simi Valley fans’ celebration ended there.

Although Simi Valley busied itself in the next two minutes, the Pioneers could not get off an effective shot.

“I don’t feel bad about losing to them. I just didn’t want to get shut out,” Albin said. “There’s a difference between getting beat by the No. 1 team and getting shut out by the No. 1 team.”

Shutouts have been commonplace for both teams. Neither was scored upon in the playoffs and, between them, they have posted 39 shutouts this season.

“It was good for Simi to score (in the final). It made them feel good and they weren’t demoralized,” first-year El Toro Coach Kerry Krause said. “I’m just glad they didn’t get the second one.”

The Southern Section title was the fifth for El Toro (29-0-2). But despite that playoff experience, Krause insisted that his team had to adapt to the championship atmosphere.

“It took us a while to settle down and play the way we wanted to play,” he said. “We had some good shots that we didn’t cash in in the first half.”

Shawna Berke started the scoring, beating goalkeeper Jennifer Holman into the lower-right corner of the net despite being flanked by three defenders. That score stood up for a 1-0 halftime lead.

El Toro doubled its advantage at the 15-minute mark of the second half when Shawn Viloria scored her 40th goal of the season on a head shot. The score came after a corner kick by Berke, who notched her 23rd assist.

Eleven minutes later, sophomore forward Kelly Thomson made it 3-0, scoring from five yards with two defenders draped over her.

“They did the same thing to us that we did to other teams--just destroyed them,” Johnson said. “Their quality shots were a lot better than our quality shots. We could have folded, 4-0, against El Toro, but we haven’t folded all season.”

Johnson, however, was not downcast after his team’s 24-3-1 season.

“We made it to (the 4-A final), won two tournaments and won league. What more could you ask for?”