GIRLS’ SOCCER ROUNDUP : Miller Sisters Help Put Fountain Valley in Final

Sisters Amber and Mindy Miller each scored a goal to lead Fountain Valley to a 3-0 victory over El Toro in the semifinals of the Ocean View Holiday Classic girls’ soccer tournament Wednesday at Ocean View.

The Barons advanced to the title game against Ocean View at 1 p.m. today and gave first-year Coach Brandee Craig plenty to be happy about.

“It was very exciting,” Craig said. “It made me feel a little more secure seeing that we can play at that level, against a team with a solid reputation.”

Fountain Valley’s 12-1-1 record is impressive but before this tournament, the Barons hadn’t played many tough teams. Their only loss was to Cypress in the title game of the Magnolia tournament.

But Fountain Valley defeated Corona del Mar, 1-0, in a quarterfinal earlier Wednesday and easily dispatched El Toro (6-4-3). The Chargers defeated Mater Dei, 2-0, in another quarterfinal.

Amber Miller, a freshman, gave the Barons a 1-0 lead with about two minutes left in the first half. Miller took a pass from Sharon Gillis on the right flank and had only goalkeeper Heather Lindstrom to beat.

Four minutes into the second half, Amber Miller centered the ball to sister Mindy, a junior who turned and scored from point-blank range.

Because of the way Fountain Valley controlled the action, the 2-0 lead was very safe. When the ball did go into the Barons’ end, Gillis, the sweeper, and defensive halfback Debbie Blake made sure El Toro’s chances to score were rare.

Late in the game, Gillis scored on a free kick from about 40 yards. Gillis’ booming kick bounced over the head of El Toro goalkeeper Melody Derloshon.

In the other Ocean View Holiday Classic semifinal:

Ocean View 2, Palos Verdes Peninsula 1--Kim Engesser scored one goal and helped set up the other as Ocean View (9-1-1) rallied to win.

Peninsula (8-4-2) took a 1-0 lead 10 minutes into the second half when Tori Giles lofted a shot over goalkeeper Jacquelyn Knebel.

But five minutes later, Peninsula goalkeeper Colleen Sharkey stopped a long free kick by Karen Dawes. Engesser was there to knock in the rebound and knock down Sharkey.

Then with 14 minutes left in the game, Engesser pushed a pass through to Jessica Funke, who passed to Janea Veal, who scored from close range.