Rebels get revenge, tournament crown
GLENDALE — A one-goal halftime lead didn’t figure to be enough, so the members of the Flintridge Prep girls’ soccer team planned to raise their level of play in their quest for a tournament title.
It’s the style of play the Rebels adhere to under Flintridge Prep Coach Esteban Chavez and it paid off Thursday afternoon thanks to a big effort from their top player.
Flintridge Prep received three goals from Brooke Elby and one from Kaelin King to record a 4-0 victory against Alta Loma in the championship match of the Ontario Christian Christmas Tournament.
“We knew that Alta Loma was real good and we wanted to be patient on offense and also keep them on the outside when they had the ball,” Chavez said.
“People can panic when it’s 1-0, so I’d rather us go out and get that second and third goals.”
Elby, who finished with six goals in four tournament contests, was named the event’s most valuable player and helped the Rebels improve to 7-1-3. Flintridge Prep, which shared the Prep League championship last season, also gained a measure of revenge against Alta Loma (8-3). Alta Loma earned a 2-1 double-overtime victory against Flintridge Prep on Dec. 4 in the championship match of the Duarte Tournament.
Elby, a forward and reigning All-Area member, gave the Rebels a 1-0 lead when she took a pass from Arielle Baptiste and scored in the 32nd minute.
Elby made it 2-0 in the 45th minute with an assist from Whitney Cohen.
King extended Flintridge Prep’s lead to 3-0 in the 48th minute off an assist from Baptiste. Elby capped her effort when she scored on a free kick from near midfield in the 66th minute. Elby leads the Rebels with 17 goals.
“Brooke is a real good player and scorer,” Chavez said. “She’s being patient and believing in her natural talent.
“She came through for us and she’s making everybody around her better.”
Flintridge Prep finished with 17 shots and limited Alta Loma to two.
Three Rebels earned all-tournament accolades. They were goalkeeper Casey Cousineau, midfielder Kate Lyon and Elby.
The championship match was originally slated for Wednesday, but rain forced the contest to be moved to Thursday.
