Diablos’ Victory Is Worth Big Celebration
Defending Division I champion Mission Viejo may not have been playing the prettiest soccer on the planet and they may still be two games away from winning back-to-back Southern Section titles, but the Diablos celebrated Thursday’s 1-0 playoff victory over Etiwanda as if they’d won the Super Bowl.
Just ask Coach Susan Daher. . . . she’s the one sloshing around in the wet dress.
“This a young team, almost completely different from last year, and they really feel the pressure in these do-or-die situations,” she said after giggling players doused her with the contents of a water cooler. “We came out pretty tense and stiff and took about 15 minutes to settle in, but the girls really persevered.”
The game’s only goal came in the 29th minute when Jennifer Thais split two Eagle defenders and threaded a perfect pass through traffic in the penalty area to Kendal Billingsley at the top of the top of the penalty area. Billingsley killed the ball at her feet, turned and sent a missile into the top corner of the net.
“Jen just kept her composure, like always, and gave me a nice ball,” Billingsley said. “I had a good first touch on it and then just tried to hit it as hard as I could.”
Actually, the game hinged as much on missed opportunities as the lone goal. After almost 20 minutes of midfield miscues, long balls directed at no one and dispossessions, Mission Viejo (18-5-3) almost took a lead in the 18th minute on a header by Stacey Mescher that glanced off the crossbar.
A few minutes later, however, it was Etiwanda (22-2-4) on a sustained attack. The Eagles got two of their best scoring chances within a span of a few seconds on corner kicks. Two Diablo defenders failed to clear the first corner from right in front of the goal, until another finally sent the ball just over the bar, inches from an own goal. Midfielder Julie Carlile’s header off the ensuing corner was deflected just wide by keeper Hannah Cochrun.
The Eagles nearly tied the score in the 51st minute when Brenna Alexander headed the ball beyond the reach of a diving Cochrun, only to see the ball cleared off the line by Cochrun’s sister, Grace.
“I really think we had better chances, we were just unlucky,” Etiwanda Coach Mychal Armstrong said. “But they’re the best team we’ve played this year. I can’t imagine how they got five losses.”
In another Division I game:
Los Alamitos 1, Esperanza 1 (Los Alamitos wins shootout, 2-1)--Kaeli Kentner scored on the Griffins’ sixth penalty-kick attempt and Esperanza’s last shot went over the net to give Los Alamitos a 2-1 shoot-out victory. The Griffins play Claremont next. Esperanza fell to 15-9-5.