Division I Fit to Be Tied, Again

Players fell to their knees, coaches clenched their clipboards and, for the second consecutive season, the Southern Section Division I girls’ soccer season ended without an outright champion.

Top-seeded San Clemente (17-2-8) earned its second consecutive co-championship and a share of its third consecutive title by tying Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley, 0-0, Saturday at Cal State Fullerton.

It was the third time this season the South Coast League rivals have tied, having played to 1-1 deadlocks in their league encounters.

Last season, league foes San Clemente and Mission Viejo played to a 1-1 tie in the title game, and in 2002, the Tritons beat Capistrano Valley, 2-1.

Momentum shifted throughout the contest Saturday, with Capistrano Valley having most of the offensive chances.

With less than a minute remaining in regulation, Capistrano Valley’s Kim Horn sent a slow-rolling ball toward the San Clemente goal. It was cleared, just inches from the goal, by defender Mari Pflaster. Early in the second half, the Cougars (14-5-7) had a goal called back because they were off-side.

Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro 1, Ventura Buena 0 -- Senior forward Becky Steen scored off a corner kick in the 38th minute to give the fourth-seeded Titans (21-5-3) the Division II title, the first in the school’s three-year history, at Cal State Fullerton. Buena finished 24-4-2.

Walnut 2, Arroyo Grande 0 -- After 54 minutes of nerves and offensive misfiring, the top-seeded Mustangs (28-1-1) finally came through to win the Division III title at Cal State Fullerton.

Junior forward Christina Carriaga scored from just outside the penalty box in the 55th minute. Less than three minutes later, junior midfielder Janessa Currier added another goal.

Walnut, which shared the section title last year with Costa Mesa, was the only team to defeat Arroyo Grande (25-5) on the playing field this season. The Eagles had to forfeit four regular-season games because of an ineligible player.

-- Elia Powers

Phelan Serrano 2, Santa Ynez 2 -- Junior defender Brittany Heringer scored on 30-yard free kick in the 70th minute as Santa Ynez overcame a 2-0 first-half deficit to rally for the tie in the Division IV final at La Mirada.

Junior forward Sade Tate scored on a penalty kick in the 15th minute and assisted on sophomore forward Amber Spencer’s 21st-minute goal for Serrano (19-7-3). The Pirates (21-4-2) cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 57th minute when junior midfielder Leann Sgobba put in a rebound after Diamondback junior goalkeeper Dougie McCaulley stopped her penalty kick.

Los Angeles Notre Dame Academy 0, Westlake Village Oaks Christian 0 -- Senior goalkeeper Emily Ottiniano made 11 saves and her Oaks Christian sophomore counterpart Julia Humphries made three for her 19th shutout of the season in the Division V final at La Mirada.

An apparent goal in the 32nd minute by senior midfielder-forward Kendall Doherty of Notre Dame Academy (15-6-2) was nullified because of an off-side call.

Oaks Christian (19-2-6) led in shots, 11-7. The tie gave the Lions a co-championship for the second consecutive season.

-- Steven Herbert

L.A. Windward 1, Ontario Christian 1 -- Renee Solis of Ontario Christian recovered after giving up a goal late in the first half to record five second-half saves and help the Lady Knights secure the Division VI co-championship, their first title, with the second-seeded Wildcats at La Mirada.

Junior forward Julia Cummings gave Windward (19-3-3) a 1-0 lead with three minutes left in the first half. She drilled a shot from the corner of the box out of the reach of a diving Solis.

Sophomore midfielder Lis Vander Eyk tied the score when she knocked in a perfectly placed corner kick 40 seconds into the second half for Ontario Christian (13-9-4), which won its fourth title.

-- Melanie Neff