Offense aplenty as locals earn All-Pacific League girls’ soccer honors
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Despite a streak-breaking victory via Crescenta Valley High, the Pacific League girls’ soccer landscape still belonged to Arcadia in the 2015-16 season.
But the likes of CV, Burbank, Burroughs, Glendale and Hoover still had their share of highlights and All-Pacific League representation.
Though Muir, which has been unable to win a league game for multiple seasons running, forfeited all its games, there was still a surplus of offensive contributions for the local squads and it was evident in the all-league selections.
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Crescenta Valley senior forward Rachel Bird, freshman forward Brianna McReynolds and senior defender Natalia Victoria drew first-time accolades for the second-place Falcons; junior forward Kira Bochard and sophomore midfielder Adrianne Sarukhanyan were first-team picks for third-place Burbank and Burroughs, which tied for third, and fifth-place Glendale, each had one first-teamer in junior Mireya Gonzalez and senior forward Ashley Vela, respectively.
The Indians’ Brady Riggs was also tabbed as Pacific League Coach of the Year.
“It’s nice to be recognized from the other coaches,” Riggs said. “I appreciate it, but I don’t do this for me, at all. I think it’s more of a reflection on the girls and them doing well.”
The Falcons (12-7 overall) took second in league with a 12-2 mark that included a historical 2-1 win at Arcadia on Jan. 22. It was a victory that stopped Arcadia’s league winning streak at 43 games and, not surprisingly, Victoria played a phenomenal game, Bird had a score and McReynolds tallied the game-winner.
It was a comeback and then some for Bird, who missed the previous two seasons with knee injuries. She returned magnificently to the tune of 14 goals and a team-high 13 assists.
“It was just great to have her play a full season,” Falcons Coach Tyraysha Peterson said. “She just powered through.”
“She was just a force to be reckoned with up top with those two freshmen.”
Those two freshmen were Megan Robertson (five goals, two assists) and the high-flying McReynolds, who had a rookie season to remember, igniting the Falcons offense, along with Bird, to heights not seen in a long time.
“She can definitely make a defense pay when she gets around them,” Peterson said of McReynolds, who had a whopping 21 goals to go along with seven assists. “It’s gonna be really fun to see her the next few years to see how she grows and matures.”
Victoria returned to the all-league first team after another stellar season on defense.
“I think she definitely held our backline,” said Peterson, whose team earned a berth in the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs, falling at Alemany, 2-0, in the first round. “I think she’s just grown into that leadership position back there.”
Earning second-team honors for CV were senior defender Lauren Cota (two goals, two assists) and junior defender Sierra Lindman Marshall (one goal, two assists), while junior goalie Nicole Jabourian received honorable mention.
Burbank High’s Kira Bochard was kept in check by the Mayfair High School defense in playoff game at home in Burbank on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016.
Burbank (11-5-3, 9-4-1 in league) scored 51 goals and 23 of them came from the fleet feet of Bochard, one of the area’s finest athletes.
“We had people double-teaming her, man-marking her the entire game,” Burbank Coach Eric Montoya said. “And she was the leading scoring in the Pacific League.”
Bochard scored against every team in the Pacific League, as the Bulldogs tied Burroughs for third place and went on to defeat Culver City on the road in the CIF playoffs before falling against Mayfair, 3-1.
A cross-country and track athlete, as well, Bochard added a team-high 10 assists.
Sarukhanyan had six goals and six assists for the Bulldogs.
“She was the heart of the midfield,” Montoya said. “She was a very skilled player, a very physical player.
“She created a lot of scoring.”
Burbank junior defender Cynthia De La Cruz (two goals, four assists) was a second-team pick for the Bulldogs, while senior forward Dalia Farazdaghi (four goals, six assists) drew honorable mention.
The Riggs-led Indians (12-5-1, 9-4-1 in league) tied Burbank for third, but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker, which resulted in a 7-1 loss to top-seeded La Mirada in the playoffs. Nonetheless, Burroughs put together quite a string of play down the stretch, going 5-0-1 in its final six matches of league.
Starting that run was a 3-1 win over Crescenta Valley, which had just knocked off Arcadia.
Gonzalez scored all three goals in that match and finished with seven goals and seven assists.
“That performance was by far the best single performance we had this season,” Riggs said. “That really turned our season around for the better.”
Garnering second-team recognition, though no doubt first-team worthy, was junior Maddie Riggs, who led Burroughs in goals (12) and assists (eight), while senior Brianna Castillo nabbed honorable mention.
“All three girls could’ve been first team,” Riggs said.
Over at Glendale, the Nitros (7-13-1, 5-9 in league) took fifth in league and Vela earned a first-team nod after scoring 11 goals and passing for five assists.
“She was the main person we looked for with our scoring,” Glendale Coach Victor Aquino said. “She moved us forward. She could shoot well from anywhere on the field.”
Junior defender Renee Paladini (two goals, three assists) was a second-team pick and honorable mention went to sophomore defender Pearl Navarro (two goals).
Hoover struggled to a seventh-place league showing (4-15-3, 3-11 in league), which due to the league’s allotment process for all-league selections, prevented the Tornadoes from having a first-team selection.
However, junior forward Remi Miller was clearly deserving of her second-team honor and likely a first-team nod as she tallied 12 goals and four assists. Junior defender Mary Deyell received honorable mention.
Arcadia’s Eden Hardy (19 goals, five assists) was voted the Pacific League Player of the Year as the Apaches won their fifth straight league title.
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Grant Gordon, grant.gordon@latimes.com
Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon
