Foothill Fends Off a Final Charge

For those expecting the Santa Ana Foothill dynasty to finally come to an end after this season, the Knights showed they still have plenty of talent.

Foothill won its fourth consecutive Southern Section Division I title Saturday night with an 8-7 victory over Santa Margarita at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

The Knights, who have three of the best seniors in the region in Brittany Hayes, Gabbie Domanic and Emily Feher, were led by a freshman, Grace Reynolds, who scored a team-high three goals, including the go-ahead score with just under two minutes left.

“[Reynolds] did play very well,” said Dave Mikesell, Foothill’s co-coach. “It was a huge learning experience for her. We’ve got a lot of depth coming through. We have a pretty good freshman class and the junior class is probably one of the best in Orange County.”

The top-seeded Knights (30-0) weren’t flawless. After Hayes scored a man-advantage goal on an assist from Reynolds to give Foothill a 6-2 lead with 5:43 remaining in the third quarter, the third-seeded Eagles rallied to tie the score, 6-6, on a long shot by Mary Cousineau as the quarter ended.

Erika Figge scored three goals to lead Santa Margarita (21-9).

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Corona del Mar 10, Villa Park 5 -- Danielle Carlson scored six goals to lead the top-seeded Sea Kings in the Division II final.

Corona del Mar (26-5) took its first lead, 3-2, on the first of two penalty shots by Carlson with 4:01 remaining in the first half. Carlson followed with two man-advantage goals, giving the Sea Kings a 5-2 lead at the half.

Both teams traded goals early in the third quarter, but the Spartans (22-10) missed a chance to cut the lead after failing to convert two extra-man opportunities. Corona del Mar moved ahead, 7-3, on Carlson’s second penalty shot with 4:15 left in the third.

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Upland 11, Riverside Poly 8 -- Upland scored four of the last five goals in the Division V final against the top-seeded Bears and earned its first section title.

Riverside Poly’s Alison Riddle was disqualified after receiving her third foul with 5:43 remaining in the game and Vanessa Lindsey scored 14 seconds later to give third-seeded Upland an 8-7 lead. Lindsey later sealed the game with 53 seconds remaining, scoring on a breakaway for a 10-8 lead.

Lindsey scored five goals to lead Upland (31-2), whose only two losses this season came against Poly (29-4).

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Santa Barbara 18, Lompoc Cabrillo 3 -- Miranda Nichols scored five goals to lead the top-seeded Dons in the Division IV final. The victory gives Santa Barbara an unprecedented fifth section title. The Dons (27-4) scored five goals in the first five minutes, then outscored third-seeded Cabrillo, 7-0, in the second quarter to take a 13-1 halftime lead. Cabrillo finishes 26-6.

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Temple City 6, La Verne Bonita 5 -- Temple City built a four-goal lead with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter and held off Bonita (21-11) in the Division III final. Jessica Coy, Tammy Trejo and Ivone Garcia scored two goals each for the top-seeded Owls (28-3), who won their first section title in their only finals appearance.

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Rowland Heights Rowland 10, Mira Loma Jurupa Valley 5 -- Jule Hale scored three goals for third-seeded Rowland in the Division VI championship game. After top-seeded Jurupa Valley (27-4) cut the lead to 5-4 on a goal by Xcina Santana with 6:02 remaining in the third quarter, the Raiders (24-5) scored five consecutive goals to pull away for their first title.