Our Lady Queen of Angels girls’ soccer blanks Eastbluff to stay undefeated at Daily Pilot Cup

Newport Beach Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic School wasted no time in getting a lead at the 20th annual Daily Pilot Cup soccer tournament.

The fifth- and sixth-grade girls’ team also didn’t waste time in extending that lead.

Our Lady Queen of Angels went on the attack and scored three goals in the first eight minutes to take a 4-0 victory over Newport Beach Eastbluff in the Silver Division Group D pool-play match on Wednesday afternoon at Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex.

Siena Ivey scored a goal in the first and fifth minute. Natalie Smith and Liliana Ure had the assists.

Ella O’Keefe scored in the eighth minute on an assist from Smith to give OLQA the 3-0 lead.

Newport Beach Our Lady Queen of Angels’ Sienna Ivey, right, battles a Newport Beach Eastbluff player in the the girls’ fifth- and sixth-grade Silver Division pool-play match at the Daily Pilot Cup in Costa Mesa on Wednesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“We passed the ball really well,” Ivey said. “We kept getting the rebound from our shots. It helped in the beginning because it gave us confidence for the rest of the game.”

The OLQA defense shut Eastbluff down, only allowing one shot on goal.

Despite the big lead, the OLQA offense was still looking for more. But Eastbluff goalkeeper Kate Nourse prevented the game from getting out of hand by making 15 saves.

“It’s a real challenge when you go down quickly,” said Eastbluff coach Kristina Izumita, whose team continues in pool-play action on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. against Costa Mesa St. Joachim Catholic School. “The girls had a lot of spirit. Some of our girls have never played soccer, but they played as a unit. I couldn’t be prouder of them. They never gave up and they just kept on trying.”

Nourse kept OLQA quiet until the 34th minute, when Kyla Grant, who moved from her usual goalkeeper position, scored thanks from an assist from Bridget Bartz.

Newport Beach Our Lady Queen of Angels’ Liliana Ure tries to shoot as Newport Beach Eastbluff goalkeeper Kate Nourse defends in the girls’ fifth- and sixth-grade Silver Division pool-play match at the Daily Pilot Cup in Costa Mesa on Wednesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

OLQA sat its starters for half the game and let the rest of the team contribute in the shutout, even avoiding the empty net when Eastbluff put Nourse on the offensive side in the final 10 minutes of the match.

“We all worked as a team,” O’Keefe said. “We make every player important and value everyone’s ability. We put each in the place they’re meant to be. When we take our shots, we put our full effort out on the field. We wanted to charge hard in the beginning so we can start with a commanding lead and we can have the confidence. We play every game the same exact way.”

OLQA will look to go undefeated in pool-play on Saturday, when it takes on St. Joachim at 12:45 p.m.

“The girls played great,” OLQA co-coach Dave O’Keefe said. “Eastbluff is a great team. Our girls played awesome. We had a lot of good ball movement. Our goal every game is to play 110% and they have been doing that the last few games. We’ve had two shutouts so far. We look forward to Saturday.”

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MANNY ALVAREZ is a contributor to Times Community News.