Edison States Its Case With Excalibur Title

Fourth-ranked Edison made a strong case for why it should be ranked even higher in the Orange County girls’ soccer poll by winning the Excalibur tournament with a 2-0 victory over defending champion La Costa Canyon Wednesday at Foothill High.

Edison (11-0-2) will certainly move up after upsetting top-ranked Capistrano Valley in the quarterfinals and then upending the defending San Diego Section champion in the final. The Chargers defeated Capistrano Valley on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie.

“Capo Valley is still a reputable team,” Edison Coach Kerry Crooks said. “We should definitely be No. 1 or 2, but shootouts don’t really tell you a lot about the teams.”

After Wednesday’s final though, Edison looked like a No. 1-caliber team. La Costa Canyon, which had not been scored on in the tournament before the final, was stunned by early Edison goals.

La Costa Canyon was unable to get the ball past Edison defenders and goalkeeper Ali Nadler, an all-tournament selection who finished with seven saves.

“Ali had a great game,” Crooks said. “She had one key save near the end of the game that kept them from getting back in it.”

Forward Lee Ann Morton, also an all-tournament selection, was involved in both goals.

She scored the first one 16 minutes into the game by heading a rebound into the corner of the net. La Costa Canyon goalkeeper Tara Walker, the tournament defensive MVP, had no chance.

Edison’s second goal came seven minutes later when Heidi Prestegard popped the ball to the corner where Morton flicked it to senior Kim Stempkoski, who slammed it into the corner of the net.

In the third-place game:

Trabuco Hills 0, Marina 0 (Trabuco Hills wins on penalty kicks, 3-1)--Dana Waters made two diving saves in the shootout for Trabuco Hills.

In the fifth-place game:

No. 1 Capistrano Valley 2, West Torrance 0--Kim Abbamonto and Chandra King each scored to lead the Cougars (11-1-1).