Oakes Blossoms Internationally
Playing soccer has taken Jill Oakes, a midfielder from North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, to many places, including Dokka, Sweden, where she participated in the prestigious Nordic Cup last summer on the U.S. women’s under-21 national team.
She was one of only two high school players on the team that consisted of elite college-level players, and it would have been easy to sit on the sidelines and watch her teammates. Instead, she played, and scored a goal to salvage a 1-1 tie with Germany and earn the U.S. team a berth in the final against Sweden.
“I was so ecstatic,” Oakes said. “Normally, my job is to create scoring opportunities, so to get a chance to score and help the girls I look up to was unbelievable.”
Oakes will return to Europe several times next year as a member of the U.S. under-19 women’s national team preparing for the first FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship in Canada this summer.
Playing in Sweden gave her a taste for some goals she hopes to attain.
“Being there was the best experience of my career,” said Oakes, who will attend UCLA next fall. “Playing against that top level competition helped me see my potential and gave me something to strive for.”
Harvard-Westlake, under first-year Coach Stacy Schwartz, is striving to reach another Southern Section Division IV title game. Last season, the Wolverines battled Mission League rival Louisville to a tie in the championship game. This season, 11 starters return, including Kim Lavere and Tracy Lansing.
Harvard-Westlake (7-0), No. 6 in The Times’ rankings, will play Long Beach Wilson in the title game of the South Torrance tournament Saturday, then Tuesday, play host to No. 8 Ventura Buena.
*
Short notice: Anaheim Esperanza Coach John King had only two weeks to prepare for the season after being hired in October.
After he had interviewed for the Claremont job and been turned down, he was going to take the year off. However, Claremont officials recommended him for Esperanza’s coaching vacancy. The No. 5 Aztecs defeated Claremont, 4-2, Tuesday.
King, who coached at Alta Loma from 1995-99, has his squad off to a good start. Esperanza (5-1-0), led by Heather Jablonsky, defeated Irvine Woodbridge and Westlake Village Westlake at the Mater Dei tournament.
