Kaiser girls’ soccer defeats Newport Coast to claim Daily Pilot Cup 5th- and 6th-grade championship

Prior to the presentation of the trophies following the finals of the Daily Pilot Cup youth soccer tournament, director Kirk McIntosh asked Tisha Hoch to say a few words.

Hoch, who has won at the highest levels of women’s soccer, said she would have done anything to play in a tournament like the Daily Pilot Cup growing up.

The 1996 Olympic gold medalist and 1999 FIFA women’s World Cup champion reminded the youngsters that the 2019 women’s World Cup begins next week. She also told them never to give up on their dreams.

It was a fun way to bookend the tournament, which in its 20th year, had many highlights.

Before she spoke to the crowd, though, Hoch and her Costa Mesa Kaiser Elementary girls’ soccer team had other business to attend to on Sunday.

After four years of trying with the same group, Hoch’s Kaiser team won a Daily Pilot Cup title. Six different players scored for Kaiser in a 6-1 win over Newport Coast in the girls’ fifth- and sixth-grade Gold Division championship match at Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex.

In the previous three tournaments, the Hoch-led Kaiser squad had lost in the semifinals twice and the finals once.

“They can appreciate it, for sure,” Hoch said of her team winning the title. “They’ve been on the losing side all the other years, so they definitely appreciate it. It’s just a great tournament. Kirk does a great job, and Jeff Grant with all the referees, just pulling together all of these people to volunteer. They pull this off, and it’s quite a feat.”

Kaiser also won championships in the girls’ fifth- and sixth-grade Gold Division in 2002, 2013 and 2016.

Ava Gross, Audrey Herron, Ella Woods, Sadie Hoch, Lola Long and Avery Muir scored for Kaiser in the final. Evie Harlan had two assists, and Zooey Evans and Lily Achak each had one assist.

It was anything but a lock that Kaiser would make it to the final. In the semifinals, Kaiser edged Corona del Mar Lincoln Elementary in penalty kicks.

“That was super scary,” Achak said of the penalty-kick shootout. “I was first to make it, and then everybody else made it, and we won.”

Goalkeeper Audrey Burns was deployed as a sweeper throughout the tournament. Newport Coast’s Jenna Hannum beat her once on a lob shot after she chased down a ball from Taryn Hill.

Woods scored a minute later in stoppage time to give Kaiser a 3-1 lead going into halftime.

“It feels really good,” Woods said of being crowned a champion. “We played our best, and I think we deserve it. I’m really proud of how we played.”

With the aggressive Burns behind them to play loose balls, the Kaiser back line of Roxy Amirie, Kate McAllister and Sadie Simon was able to execute the offside trap.

“Coach would yell at us, ‘Move up. Draw ‘em [offside],’ so they would be offside when they get the ball,” McAllister commented of Hoch’s influence on their defensive scheme.

Burns made three saves for Kaiser, including a leaping full-extension stop on a shot by Phoebe Ganion to preserve her team’s two-goal advantage early in the second half.

Ashley La Rocca made five saves in goal for Newport Coast.

“They’re a fantastic team,” Newport Coast coach Ryan MacAfee said of his team. “They’re a great group of girls. They won this thing two years ago, and so they have been eyeing this ever since. We couldn’t have asked for anything more.

“They did an amazing job. They made it to the championship. What more could you do? I’m so proud of them.”

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andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner