Bernal Trips Up Palisades, 5-0

Krystal Bernal scored three goals and Kennedy High allowed Palisades only three shots in a 5-0 victory in the first round of the City Section girls’ soccer playoffs Tuesday in Granada Hills.

Bernal, a sophomore forward, scored on a breakaway in the 11th minute, then converted a two-on-one pass from Monique Gaxiola in the 29th minute to increase the Golden Cougars’ lead to 2-0.

“I planted the seed in my players’ heads a couple of weeks ago that we were going to play Palisades, long before the draw was announced,” Kennedy Coach Vicky Lagos said.

“I had a feeling we were going to play them and I was hoping we would because they knocked us out last year.”

Palisades (8-5-5), seeded 11th in the 16-team City Championship division, beat the Golden Cougars, 3-2, in the quarterfinals last season with a more experienced team.

This time, Kennedy’s speed made the difference.

“Last year we had to play them at their field and it was very muddy,” Lagos said. “That really nullified our speed advantage. [Tuesday] we were able to exploit them on the wings, then cross into the middle down near the goal.”

Lauren Tamayoshi, Ana Coria and Bernal scored for sixth-seeded Kennedy (15-5-2) in the second half.

Jay Gutierrez marked Shanna Hudson, Palisades’ leading scorer, and goalie Joanna Chavez registered her 11th shutout this season.

Kennedy will travel to third-seeded San Pedro (16-5), the Marine League champion, for a quarterfinal game on Friday.