Pavoni’s Hat Trick Lifts Hart

The last time Hart High midfielder Ali Pavoni played a game on the school’s field, there were tears.

On Monday, Pavoni and her teammates were all smiles.

Pavoni scored three goals to lead the Indians to a 3-2 nonleague girls’ soccer victory over Thousand Oaks at Hart, where they had suffered a stunning 2-0 first-round playoff loss to Crescenta Valley last season.

“I wasn’t here last year, but I knew we had to bring the team’s morale up,” said Juan Arias, the Indians’ third coach in three years. “We are trying to have fun in practice. I’m new here, but little by little I’m making changes. We are playing happy soccer.”

The happiness was evident in the eyes of the Hart players. The Indians improved to 1-1.

“We are just trying to have fun this year,” Pavoni said. “Even though we lost 2-0 to Arcadia [in our opener], we weren’t upset because we knew we played the best we could. We are happy to be here this year.”

After opening a 3-0 lead, the Indians had trouble forward Kaitlyn Kelly of Thousand Oaks (1-1).

Kelly scored in the 65th minute and assisted on Erin O’Donnell’s goal in the 68th minute. Kelly struck a shot that hit the post with 10 seconds remaining and then had her final shot stopped on a diving save by freshman goalkeeper Melissa Deckers.