The Claremont girls soccer team will play for the CIF title at noon on Saturday at Warren High School in Downey against No. 2 South Torrance. But they will do so without their top player.
The Wolfpack (23-2-2) come into the contest with some momentum, having knocked off top seed Bishop Amat 1-0 in the semifinal. But in that contest leading scorer Sophie Jones was red-carded so the sophomore standout must sit this one out.
Tracey said he checked out all avenues of appeal but knew the chances of having that overturned were slim so the team is pressing onward.
“It shouldn’t even have been a foul,” he said, of the play that sidelined his top player. “We have a lot of depth and a lot of players that can score so I still like our chances.”
Jones tallied 21 goals and 10 assists for 52 points, more than twice that of the second-leading scorer. Sophomore Janelle Gutierrez is second on the team in points with 24 on eight assists and eight goals. Junior Elisabeth Chua is third in scoring with seven goals and seven assists.
Senior Mackenzie Boulware is fourth in scoring at 17 points. She had the lone goal in the win over Bishop Amat.
The Wolfpack, winners of the Palomares League, have registered 14 assists with junior Allison Bifone in the net for most of those. Junior Hope Hyland has also been an integral player in the backfield.
South Torrance (18-1-2), the Pioneer League winner, is the second seed. The Spartans advanced to the final with a 5-2 win over Flintridge Prep. They have won 13 straight games since settling for a 1-1 tie with Marymount in December.
Claremont last appeared in the CIF title game in 2012 and it beat Bishop Amat 2-0.
South Torrance was Division 4 champion in 2014.
General admission for the contest is $10 with students (with ID) and cildren getting in for $5.
