Marina girls' soccer loses to Capistrano Valley in CIF Division 2 quarterfinals

Marina's McKenna Pua (20) looks on after the Vikings lose 3-1 to Capistrano Valley in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs on Wednesday in Huntington Beach.

By Andrew TurnerStaff Writer

Feb. 19, 2020 7:17 PM PT

In the view of Marina High girls’ soccer coach Heath Oberle, the only thing at stake for the Vikings on Wednesday was the chance to add on to what had already been a very special season.

A season that had already seen the Vikings win their first league championship since 1995 came to an end against Capistrano Valley.

Sandra Trumbly had a goal and an assist to lead the Cougars to a 3-1 road win over the Vikings in a CIF Southern Section Division 2 quarterfinal playoff match.

Capistrano Valley (10-5-6) advanced to the semifinals to play at Hesperia Oak Hills (20-4) on Saturday. Oak Hills beat No. 3-seeded Claremont 1-0 at home in the quarterfinals.

Marina (10-9-3), the Wave League champion, had reached the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2008. The Vikings were in Division 1 that season.

The result had little bearing on how Oberle would remember the season. The way in which his team competed, however, was consistent with how he might reflect on the team’s legacy.

“This game, if we had won it, doesn’t make the season that much better,” Oberle said. “The fact that we lost it doesn’t take away everything that we have done up to this point. The girls stuck together until the final whistle. Even in the last 30 seconds, I felt like it seemed more like a one-[goal] game than a two-[goal] game. They were fighting like if they got that goal, they could be right back in it.

“That was this team from start to finish was just hard work all year.”

Marina's McKenna Pua, second from right, is congratulated by teammate Renee Mangold, right, and Alexis VanHorn after scoring a goal against Capistrano Valley in the 61st minute of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 quarterfinal playoff match on Wednesday.

After falling behind 2-0 on a well-placed shot to the top-left corner by Dafne Saldivar in the 55th minute, the Vikings continued to push. They cut the lead in half in the 61st minute.

Haley Boren took a free kick from 45 yards out. It bounced in on goal, where Emma Kirby got her head on the ball and sent it off the right post. The ball lay near the goal line, where McKenna Pua was able to get to it and push it across.

Capistrano Valley opened the scoring, thanks to a fortuitous bounce in the 34th minute. Trumbly stepped into a powerful shot that struck teammate Abby Grabowski. The ball ricocheted from its path to the left of the goal up into the right corner, leaving Carly Miles no chance to make the save.

“We definitely work on getting a touch, hitting your shot,” Trumbly said. “I didn’t really see anyone in front of me hit it.

“It wasn’t exactly how I wanted it, but [it] kind of got that deflection off of our other attacking forward, and it kind of just bounced right in. It went to the other side of the keeper and kind of ended up in there.”

The Cougars held an opponent to one goal or less for the 11th consecutive match. Capistrano Valley’s back line of Riley Sterling, Annie Boon, Bryn Doalson and Gracie Haley made it difficult for Marina to create offensively from the run of play. Dublin Synott also made four saves.

“We don’t give up many goals,” Cougars coach Jason Sorrell said. “We knew coming in, we won’t score many, but if we can get a couple, we would be all right.

“I think that is the third goal that we have given up in [11] games, so we’ve done well in the back. We knew that. We knew with all the tight games, we’re confident in tight games.”