No. 1 Capistrano Valley Tops No. 2 Mission Viejo

When Capistrano Valley and Mission Viejo get together, it’s usually a physical game. But no one expected that a collision between teammates would decide the outcome.

The top-ranked Cougars, who lost three players to injuries, got an own goal in the second half to defeat No. 2-ranked Mission Viejo, 1-0, in a South Coast League girls’ soccer game Thursday at Capistrano Valley.

After taking a cross from Chandra King, Capistrano Valley midfielder Kristen Moore fired a shot at Mission Viejo goalkeeper Hannah Cochrun. As Cochrun tried to stop the shot, she collided with teammate Chelsea Tallcott. Moore’s shot deflected off the two Diablos and rolled slowly into the goal as King trailed it in to make sure it crossed the line.

After a slight hesitation, the referee called it a goal with 15 minutes left in the game.

Cochrun, who finished with 10 saves, disagreed.

“The ball never crossed the line,” Cochrun said. “I was right there and we cleared it out.”

Capistrano Valley Coach Jack Peterson had little doubt about it going in.

“Chandra was right there to make sure it went in,” Peterson said.

Overshadowing the victory for the Cougars was the concern over the loss of two starters and one reserve.

Five minutes into the game, Capistrano Valley starting forward Lindsay Greco got tripped up after a collision with Diablo defender Kelly Anderson. Greco, the Cougars’ leading scorer with 17 goals and eight assists, was helped off the field with a badly sprained ankle. She was taken to Mission Hospital for X-rays and is expected to miss about two weeks.

Later in the first half, senior midfielder Tiffany Landgraff left the game after possibly re-breaking two of her recently healed toes. With about 10 minutes left in the game, sophomore starting midfielder Ashley Casas went down after a collision and had to be carried off the field with a badly sprained ankle. Casas is expected to be out three to four weeks.

“I think Ashley’s injury is the worst,” Peterson said. “We are just fortunate to have next week off for finals.”

The Cougars improved to 13-0-3, 4-0-1. Mission Viejo is 12-5-4, 2-1-3.