SOUTH COAST LEAGUE GIRLS’ SOCCER ROUNDUP : El Toro Gets Past Mission Viejo

Jeff Pearson, first-year coach at Mission Viejo, was suitably impressed with El Toro in a South Coast League girls’ soccer game Thursday afternoon.

El Toro, the top-ranked girls’ team in Orange County, defeated the unranked Diablos, 5-0, at Mission Viejo High School for its ninth shutout.

“This has got to be one of the best teams in the state,” said Pearson, who took over for longtime coach Jim Dutton two weeks before the season began. “I’ve never seen a girls’ team of this caliber. They have a lot of seniors, a lot of talent and, unfortunately, they are all here at the same time.”

Mission Viejo (6-7-4, 2-2 in league) has upset second-ranked Edison and fourth-ranked Capistrano Valley this season, but the Diablos didn’t have the personnel to match El Toro’s strong attack. Mission Viejo has seven freshmen, all of whom play regularly.

El Toro (13-1-2, 3-0-1) started its attack early, scoring three minutes into the game, as senior forward Denise Kenyon got the first of her three goals past Mission Viejo goalkeeper Kelly Farino. Kenyon, who leads the Chargers with 12 goals, broke free in front of Mission Viejo’s goal and scored her second goal, giving El Toro a comfortable 3-0 lead with eight minutes remaining in the first half.

El Toro Coach Kerry Krause said he didn’t know what to expect of the Diablos.

“I think they are a nice, young team, but the problem is, if you get a couple of goals behind, it’s hard to come back,” Krause said. “And today we put them on their heels.”

Julie Bargiel and Jenny Fricke scored the other goals for the Chargers. Kenyon and Sherri Kaminski had assists.

In other South Coast League games:

Capistrano Valley 2, Dana Hills 1--Renee Parker scored at 15 and 17 minutes into the second half for fourth-ranked Capistrano Valley (14-4-2, 2-2). Forward Jessica Stahlin scored for seventh-ranked Dana Hills (14-4-2, 1-1-1).

Mater Dei 2, San Clemente 1--Kirsten Keyler and Teresa Buechler scored for Mater Dei (10-4-2). San Clemente goalkeeper Jessica Barr made 18 saves.