Puddle-Bound Ball Helps El Modena to Victory, Title
Freshman Lindsey Horst dug the ball out of a puddle and scored the winning goal in El Modena’s 1-0 victory over Foothill Thursday, earning the Vanguards the Century League girls’ soccer title at El Modena.
Horst thought the ball was going to bounce past her, but a puddle stopped it about 20 yards from the goal 10 minutes into the second half. She picked it up, turned and dribbled to the goal, taking on Foothill’s Kelly Yukihuro one-on-one and sailing a shot past the Knight goalkeeper.
“Everyone was screaming and I saw I was all alone with the ball, so I said, ‘I guess I better take a shot,’ ” Horst said. “It was wonderful. I was literally in tears. Everybody else worked so hard for this and I’m the one that gets to score the goal.”
“Lindsey has come up big for us in two very big games,” El Modena Coach Craig Bennett said. “She scored both goals in our 2-0 victory over Canyon, and now this.”
Both teams came into the game with one league loss. Foothill, whose only loss was to Villa Park, 1-0, in its first league game, appeared to have the upper hand coming into Thursday’s game after defeating the Vanguards, 4-0, in the first round. Foothill needed only a tie to earn the top seed for the playoffs. But this time around it was all El Modena.
“I think [Foothill] was really motivated in the first game,” Bennett said “They weren’t given a lot of credit in the preseason. This is the day we prepared for. I couldn’t sit still all day at work.”
Foothill (9-8-5, 8-2) mounted a furious attack in the final 15 minutes, but El Modena’s defense was able to hold on.
The Knights’ best opportunity came when, on a cross, Vanguard goalkeeper Jackie James called off defender Jamie Lenahan and went to collect the ball. But a puddle stopped its progress and on James’ save attempt she grabbed the ball outside the box, resulting in a hand-ball violation. However, on the ensuing free kick from just outside the box, Amber Dragomir was unable to get the ball past the Vanguards’ wall.
El Modena (15-5-2, 9-1) outshot the Knights, 12-3.
In the Empire League:
Cypress 3, El Dorado 1--Allison Chislock, Nicole Woiemberghe and Gina McAskill scored goals for host Cypress (15-4-2, 8-2).
In the Sea View League:
Irvine 2, No. 5 Woodbridge 1--Jackie Lamm and Holly Rife scored for Irvine. Christine Johnson scored for Woodbridge (11-5-2, 3-3-2). With the win, Irvine (8-11-2, 4-4) tied the Warriors for second place.
In the Sunset League:
No. 7 Esperanza 1, Fountain Valley 0--Esperanza claimed the championship for the first time in the six years the Aztecs have been in the Sunset League. Sophomore forward Adriene Lindsey scored the only goal, in the first half.
