GIRLS’ SOCCER ROUNDUP : Marina’s Benson Gets Victory, and a Party

Top-ranked Marina dominated eighth-ranked Ocean View everywhere in the first half, except the scoreboard.

“It got sort of frustrating,” Marina midfielder Jenny Benson said. “You only get so many opportunities.”

But Benson didn’t let her opportunity pass in the second half as she whistled a wide-open shot past Ocean View goalkeeper Keri Lawson to give her team a 1-0 victory in a Sunset League girls’ soccer game Tuesday at Marina, and herself a present on her 16th birthday.

Afterward, Benson’s teammates thanked her by giving her a birthday hat and singing happy birthday.

“It was nice to score a goal on my birthday,” she said. “It was a set-piece, and I was wide open.”

Benson was actually denied on her first shot, but the rebound came back to her. She didn’t miss again and scored her 10th goal of the season.

Marina (19-0-1, 6-0-1 in league) outshot Ocean View, 13-1, in the first half and, 20-4, in the game.

“We always have trouble with them,” Benson said. “We just needed to hang tough.”

After Benson scored, Ocean View (12-7-2, 3-3-1) had one more chance to score, but Kimberly Engesser’s shot was deflected off the crossbar by Marina goalkeeper Jennifer Simmons with 10 minutes left.

Marina extended its unbeaten streak to 30 games.

In other Sunset League games:

Edison 2, Huntington Beach 0--Second-ranked Edison (18-3-2, 6-1) remained a half-game behind Marina. Nicole Price and Erin Bailey scored for the Chargers.

In the Olympic League:

Whittier Christian 4, Brethren Christian 4--Sabrina Shannon scored two goals for Whittier Christian (4-8-2, 1-5-2) and Joy Pelletier scored two for Brethren Christian (7-6-2, 4-2-2).

In the Orange League:

Anaheim 5, Western 2--Elida O’Campo scored two goals, and Christina Ramirez, Kellie Fernandez and Elide O’Campo each added one to lead Anaheim (6-10, 4-2).

Brea-Olinda 5, Magnolia 0--Jennifer Overholtzer, Renata Soqui and Angie Smith scored in the first half for host Brea-Olinda (7-6-3, 5-0-1). Juli Evers and Amy Alexander scored second-half goals.

Valencia 0, Savanna 0--Valencia (6-6-5, 3-0-3) still hasn’t been scored on in league play, but failed to get a victory as Savanna’s Rene Miller recorded 20 saves.

In the Pacific Coast League:

Laguna Beach 1, Estancia 1--Gina Belloni scored one for Laguna Beach (7-5-2, 2-3-1).

In the Sea View League:

Santa Margarita 3, Woodbridge 0--Katie Flynn scored two goals and Lori Terstriep scored one for seventh-ranked Santa Margarita (12-4-1, 8-0). Courtney Spelber had 17 saves for Woodbridge (6-9-3, 2-4-2).

Irvine 2, Newport Harbor 0--Katie Roda and Sarah Denson scored second-half goals to lead host Irvine (10-6, 6-2).

University 2, Corona del Mar 2--Cheree Cohen and Jayne Nichols each scored goals for University (3-7-3, 2-4-2) and Julie Garrison and Hilleary Kehrli scored for Corona del Mar (3-2-3 in league).

In the South Coast League:

Capistrano Valley 4, El Toro 0--Renee Parker and Sarah Hannay each had a goal and an assist and Lindsay Light had two assists for host Capistrano Valley (16-3-3, 5-1), the third-ranked team in the county. El Toro is 9-8-2, 2-2-2.

Dana Hills 2, Mater Dei 1--Melissa Miller and Shawna Tortanasi each scored goals to lead Dana Hills (3-3 in league).

Trisha Steiner scored for Mater Dei (13-5-1, 4-1-1), the sixth-ranked team in the county.

Mission Viejo 4, San Clemente 1--Beth Merkle scored her fourth goal of league play and goalkeeper Kelly Farino had 12 saves for the Diablos (4-11-3, 1-3-2).