Chatsworth Girls Return to Final

Encore, encore, encore. . .

Encore?

Three goals in four minutes went a long way toward giving Chatsworth High a chance to win its fourth City Section girls’ soccer championship in four years.

The Chancellors broke a scoreless tie with three goals midway through the first half and went on to a 6-0 victory over Birmingham in a City Championship semifinal Tuesday at Chatsworth.

The Chancellors (23-2-1), who won the last three City 4-A Division titles, will play in their fifth consecutive final at 4 p.m. Saturday against San Pedro at Birmingham.

Chatsworth lost to Grant in the 1995 4-A title game. Since then, the Chancellors have been sparked by a nucleus of seniors led by forward Jackie Fodor. They have been key contributors since their freshman seasons, and this year they have meshed nicely with some talented younger players.

“I sit back and marvel at the athleticism of these girls,” Coach Jack Sidwell of Chatsworth said. “We just give them a soccer ball, and just stand back and watch.”

They’ll try to win a fourth consecutive title against a familiar foe. Chatsworth, which has a 13-game winning streak, defeated San Pedro, 3-1, in the final last year.

“It’s kind of exciting for us,” said Fodor, who started the Chancellors’ onslaught against Birmingham with her 35th goal of the season. “We hold a high standard for ourselves. We expect to win and everybody else kind of expects us to win.”

The Chancellors had no problem living up to expectations once they got on the board against Birmingham (13-4-4), which had a seven-game winning streak and an eight-game unbeaten streak broken.

After Fodor opened the scoring in the 20th minute, Shannon De Vos converted in the 23rd minute and Leila Pate scored the first of her three goals in the 24th minute.

“I think once they got their first goal, we got down and lost our confidence,” said Jill Oakes of Birmingham, who played stopper in the first half and midfielder in the second. “The whole time we were trying to come back, but we just couldn’t do it.

“We’re just not as skilled as some of their players.”

There was little the Patriots could to contain Fodor, who also assisted on two goals, or Pate, a sophomore midfielder who has been on a late-season tear with eight goals in three playoff games and 10 in the Chancellors’ last four games.

Pate, who has 22 goals, gave Chatsworth a 5-0 advantage by the 45th minute with two scores early in the second half. Heather Collins capped the scoring with a goal in the 74th minute after playing goalkeeper in the first half.

Chatsworth got two assists from freshman Jenna Fodor, Jackie’s sister.