Spirit Girls’ Soccer Club Advances at Regionals

Michelle Kaping scored early in the first half and the Fountain Valley Spirit defeated Hawaii, 1-0, at the Western Regionals of the National Cup girls’ soccer tournament Sunday in Golden, Colo.

Four minutes into the match, Kaping took a crossing pass from Erin Bailey and headed it into the corner of the goal. Kaping and Bailey are teammates at Edison High School.

Goalkeepers Kathy Skogland (four saves) and Ali Havriluk (five saves) combined for the shutout. The Spirit, who are the Southern California under-16 champions, are 2-0 in pool play and will play undefeated Washington today and Idaho on Tuesday.

Thirteen teams are split into two pools with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the semifinals Tuesday afternoon.