Marquand’s Run, Goal Lift University Past Esperanza

University’s Allyson Marquand lifted her team to a 1-0 first-round upset of Esperanza Saturday, knocking in the winning goal 11 minutes into the second half of a Southern Section Division I girls’ soccer playoff game.

University forward Kaley Pickett, racing down the right sideline, crossed the ball from 40 yards to Marquand, on the run on the left wing. Marquand, a fullback, took the ball around a defender and got off a strong left-footed shot from 15 yards that went off the fingertips of Esperanza goalkeeper Kristin Skinner and into the far corner of the goal.

“I was hoping [Pickett] saw me,” Marquand said. “And then I took a left-footed shot so I wasn’t sure if it was going to go in or not. This was a really big game for us. It’s great.”

It was a rematch of a first-round game last year that Esperanza won, 3-1.

“They were determined to win this one after losing here last year,” University Coach Ingrid Bruder said. “We were definitely the underdog. I can’t stop shaking.”

Marquand dominated both ends of the field and along with Elizabeth Link, helped shut down Esperanza’s dangerous scorer, freshman Stephanie Freeman. Freeman got off only one shot.

University, the Pacific Coast League champion, will host Edison in the second round on Tuesday.

In other Division I games:

Edison 1, El Toro 0--Yvonne Pierson scored in the 38th minute to lead Edison (17-3-3).

Capistrano Valley 6, Long Beach Wilson 0--Six girls scored for the top-seeded Cougars (22-0-4), who play Los Alamitos on Tuesday.

Los Alamitos 3, Long Beach Poly 1--Brittany Savelkoul scored twice for the Griffins (15-5-4).

Mission Viejo 6, Chino Hills Ayala 0--Kate Desmond scored twice for the Diablos (17-3-4), who will play Claremont.

In Division II:

Cypress 2, Cerritos Gahr 0--Rebekah Rogers and Laura Woiemberghe each scored for host Cypress (13-3-2), which will play Manhattan Beach Mira Costa.

Kennedy 3, Sonora 2 (Kennedy advances on penalty kicks, 4-1)--Jihan Elgazaar stopped two penalty kicks for Kennedy (14-6-3), which will play South Torrance.

Mater Dei 5, Canyon Country Canyon 0--Alison Fennell and Paige Pancoast each scored two goals for fourth-seeded Mater Dei (15-3-3), which will play Westlake Village Westlake.

Santa Margarita 1, El Dorado 0--Erica Perotta scored for Santa Margarita (12-5-4), which will play Woodbridge.

In Division III:

El Modena 1, Torrance Bishop Montgomery 0--A.J. Reeder made eight saves for the Vanguards (15-9-1), who play La Canada.

Pacifica 3, Culver City 0--Diana DeAugustine scored two goals and Alicia Schlensker added another for Pacifica (23-4), which will face Lakewood St. Joseph.