Daily News High School Spotlight

With the Harvard-Westlake of Studio City girls' soccer team suffering a 2-1 loss Wednesday night to Chaminade of West Hills, the Wolverines' 25-match Mission League unbeaten streak came to an end, the latest in list of defending league champions to have their lengthy runs halted this month.

Take a look at the list of local girls' soccer teams to have their league unbeaten runs stopped during January (Note: An unbeaten run includes ties. These are not winning streaks, as has been reported on other Web sites.)

Highland (Golden League) 40 -- Lost 1-0 at Quartz Hill on Jan. 18

El Camino Real (West Valley League) 30 -- Lost 1-0 at Chatsworth on Jan. 11

Sherman Oaks CES (Valley League) 27 -- Lost 1-0 at Northridge Academy on Jan. 24

Harvard-Westlake (Mission League) 25 -- Lost 2-1 vs. Chaminade on Jan. 30

Thousand Oaks (Marmonte League) 19 -- Lost 1-0 vs. Westlake on Jan. 19

Hart (Foothill League) 10 -- Lost 3-0 at Valencia on Jan. 29

Oak Park (Tri-Valley League) 8 -- Lost 1-0 at St. Bonaventure on Jan. 7

-- Five local girls' soccer programs have almost managed to make it to February with their league unbeaten streaks still alive:

North Hollywood (Sunset Six League) 37 -- Play Thursday at Poly of Sun Valley

Viewpoint (Liberty League) 36 -- Play Thursday vs. Santa Clarita Christian

Lancaster Desert Christian (High Desert League) 28 -- Play Thursday vs. Mojave at Lancaster National Soccer Complex (Note: Desert Christian has 28 consecutive victories)

Sylmar (Valley Mission League) 18 -- Play Friday vs. San Fernando

Hollywood (Southern League) 17 -- Play Tuesday at Los Angeles

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GOLDEN
Highland 7, Antelope Valley 0
Leanne Brown had two goals and two assists, Melanie Johnson scored two goals and Samantha Johnson had a goal and two assists for Highland (13-4-2, 10-1).

MARMONTE
Thousand Oaks 2, Moorpark 1
Amanda Neveu and Alyson Bingel each scored a goal for Thousand Oaks (12-4-1, 8-1-1).

Westlake 2, Newbury Park 1
Krystin Shanklin and Andrea Todak each scored a goal for Westlake (6-7-3, 3-6-1).
Rachel Hook scored the lone goal for Newbury Park (6-6-4, 4-3-3).

MISSION
Chaminade 2, Harvard-Westlake 1
Lauren Battung scored both goals and Alexa Cain had an assist as Chaminade (8-5-6, 4-2-1) snapped host Harvard-Westlake's 25-game league unbeaten streak.
Haley-Jaye Boysen scored the goal for the Wolverines (6-5-6, 5-1-1).

Louisville 2, Flintridge Sacred Heart 0
Alyssa Kramer had a goal and an assist for Louisville (8-8-4, 2-3-1). Janelle Topete scored the game's first goal and Ivette Rodriguez added an assist.

Notre Dame 3, Alemany 0
Olivia Feitshans scored two goals and Jen Pace added one for Notre Dame (14-3-3, 4-3). Meg Pierce, Hannah Snow and Robyn Weatherby each had an assist for the Knights.

TRI-VALLEY
Oak Park 3, Malibu 2
Lauren Kawamoto scored two goals and Stephanie Gilbert added another for Oak Park (10-6-4, 6-3-1).

St. Bonaventure 2, La Reina 1
Gillian DeGennaro scored La Reina's only goal off an assist from Kelsea Brajkovich in the 60th minute. La Reina has an overall record of 12-8 and 4-4 in league.

VALLEY MISSION
Sylmar 10, Panorama 0
Sylmar (14-4-3, 6-0-1) extended its unbeaten streak to eight games with the victory. Tanya Lopez had four goals and two assists. Carol Martinez had two goals and three assists and Edith Dominguez added two goals for the Spartans.

WEST VALLEY
El Camino Real 1, Chatsworth 0
Lindsey Forte scored the game's lone goal in the 61st minute from an assist from Katie Etcher. El Camino Real (5-8-2, 4-2), which avenged a loss to Chatsworth on January 11th, took sole possesion of second place in league behind Granada Hills (4-7-2, 4-1-1).
Dana Moreno had six saves for the Chatsworth (6-4-2, 3-2-1).

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Robyn Estrada couldn’t have asked for a better scenario.

Jaide Garcia couldn’t have been happier to oblige.

Estrada recorded a hat trick Tuesday to reach 100 career goals, the last score coming in the 35th minute off an assist from her best friend Garcia, helping the Desert Christian of Lancaster girls’ soccer team defeat Kern Valley of Lake Isabella 12-0 at Lancaster National Soccer Complex.

"At the very beginning of the game, I told (Robyn) 'I know you’re close, but I’m not going to tell you how many you have,'" said Garcia, who scored twice and had two assists in the High Desert League win.
"All I know is she needed to get three and every time I got the ball, I was looking for her. I was so happy she finally got it."

Estrada, who has 24 goals this season after leading the Southern Section with 40 last year, returned the favor in the 61st minute, delivering a well-placed corner kick, which Garcia headed inside the left post.

"Jaide is definitely a huge part of these 100 goals. There’s a lot of people who have been a big part of this," said Estrada, who has 76 career assists. "It’s not always about the goalscorer. If it wasn’t for people like Jaide working so hard to get me the ball or Kristyn Richards saving us on defense so many times, then I wouldn’t be able to score."

Estrada, who reached 97 goals with a hat trick in a 5-1 victory Jan. 17 at Bishop Union, had to wait nearly two weeks to play a match because of inclement weather resulting in league contests being postponed. But the four-year starter scored twice in the first 20 minutes, and, after Shea Richards increased the lead to 3-0, Estrada took a pass from Garcia and buried a 20-yard shot inside the left post to reach the century mark.

"From the beginning of the game, Jaide kept looking for me, but I didn’t want to be a ball hog," said Estrada, who became the first area player since Village Christian of Sun Valley’s Jessica Gordon (2002-06) — now at San Diego State — to score 100 career goals.

"But playing together for as long as we have, I think it's super cool that she was involved in (No. 100)."

Seven different players scored in the second half for Desert Christian (15-0-1, 8-0), which increased the area’s longest unbeaten streak to 34 in a row entering today’s contest against Mammoth at the Soccer Complex.

"I didn’t want to have any regrets the whole season. I just wanted to do my best, whether I finished with 50 goals or if I scored 100," Estrada said. "Now that it’s (happened), I’m focusing more on the bigger picture because I still want to win CIF with my teammates."

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First it was El Camino Real of Woodland Hills.

On Monday, Chatsworth became the latest victim.

A year after missing the City Section girls' soccer playoffs, Cleveland of Reseda has bolstered its resume with victories this season over the West Valley League's elite programs, the latest highlight being a 2-1 victory over the first-place Chancellors.

Chatsworth (6-3-2, 3-1-1), which recorded a 5-0 victory Jan. 9 over Cleveland, took the lead in the 15th minute on a penalty shot. But the Cavaliers (12-8-3, 3-2-1) scored twice in the final 15 minutes to record the come-from-behind win.

Tara Trakin converted a cross from Emily Grubman in the 65th minute and Ashani McGee scored the winning goal with three minutes left on an assist from Becca Verstraete.

"This is a great win. To come into Chatsworth and win on the road shows the character of my girls," Cleveland coach Hector Ramirez said. "They never panicked. They never got away from our game plan. They stuck with it for 80 minutes. We knew we would break through and get one. Once we got one, we knew we would get another. They gave me a tremendous effort tonight."

Things don't figure to get any easier for Cleveland, which plays Wednesday at Granada Hills (3-7-2, 3-1-1) and Friday at El Camino Real (4-8-2, 3-2). The Cavaliers suffered a 2-0 loss Jan. 11 to Granada Hills, but rebounded to record a 2-1 victory Jan. 16 over ECR.

"Now we prepare for Granada, which we know will be another challenge," Ramirez said.

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It took another impressive effort by Royal of Simi Valley to bring out the best in the Thousand Oaks girls' soccer team.

That didn't provide much consolation Monday night for the Highlanders, who played well enough to record at least a tie against the Lancers.

But just like the teams' first meeting, that little extra effort carried Thousand Oaks a long way, helping the Lancers move past idle Agoura for sole possession of first place in the Marmonte League with a 1-0 victory over Royal (5-6-6, 4-2-4).

"It was the same talent and the same skill level as we had (in a 1-0 loss to Westlake and a 0-0 tie with Newbury Park), tonight we just had a much better effort," Thousand Oaks coach Geoff Raives said. "Their work rate was a lot better and you could tell they wanted it. I didn't play up the importance of this game, but this was big for us. Royal's a good team and they're always tough to beat.

"We just needed to stop worrying about everything that has happened in the past and all the outside distractions and just go out and enjoy the opportunity."

Moments before what appeared to be a scoreless first half, the Lancers took full advantage of one of their few scoring opportunities, as hustle plays by sisters Michelle and Nicole Cruz led to Samantha Rivera producing the match's lone goal.

Michelle Cruz knocked the ball off a Royal defender on the left sideline, which awarded Thousand Oaks (11-4-1, 7-1-1) a throw-in. On the quick restart, Michelle Cruz tossed the ball to her sister, whose 15-yard shot was knocked down by Heather Haney. But Nicole Cruz scrambled to gather the rebound, promptly putting another shot on frame.

Haney was again able to deflect the ball, but this time to the far post, where Rivera was waiting to crash the net.

"If Michelle doesn't slide to give us that ball and Nicole doesn't work as hard as she did to play it back in, then Sam doesn't score that goal," Raives said. "It shows how much the little things matter."

Especially when Michelle Cruz, one of the Lancers' top scorers, was held scoreless for the third consecutive match, due in large part to the defensive effort of Jackie Brown.

"We had some girls who were sick and injured and they came back and all of the sudden, we put things back together," Raives said. "And we definitely needed it because Jackie marks Michelle and shuts her down two times and we needed to find another way to score. My hat's tipped to that girl."

But in similar fashion to their 2-1 setback Jan. 16, the Highlanders mounted a strong attack in the final 10 minutes, only to come up empty as a well-placed cross to the left post couldn't connect with any forwards and a 25-yard shot sailed over the crossbar.

"We were right there until the last minute," Royal coach Scott Cameron said. "I liked the way the girls played. I thought their work rate was good and they never quit. But I told my girls before that we weren't coming in here playing for the tie. If they beat us, they were going to earn it and they did. They're a very good team. They're well-coached and they're well-organized and I enjoy playing against them. It's just too bad we had to lose another close one like this."

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If the match had lasted the regulation 80 minutes, then there likely would've been no cause for concern for the Oaks Christian of Westlake Village girls' soccer team.

But with rival Oak Park scoring on a Lauren Kawamoto penalty kick in the 79th minute and the contest being extended almost an additional 10 minutes because of stoppage time, there were several anxious moments on the Lions' sideline Monday.

With seniors Melissa Dahl and Kelsea Smith battling back injuries and freshman Ally Courtnall icing a bruised knee, in addition to two other players being sidelined because of yellow cards, host Oaks Christian was able to hold on for a 2-1 victory, keeping the Lions in contention for the Tri-Valley League title and hurting the Eagles' bid for a repeat.

"The kids played through a lot of adversity (Monday) and they didn't lose their composure," Oaks Christian coach Jan Hethcock said. "They knew they needed to win and they responded."

Oaks Christian (13-3-2, 6-1-1) believed its quest for the league championship was jeopardized by suffering a 1-0 loss Jan. 18 at St. Bonaventure of Ventura and tying Nordhoff of Ojai 1-1 three days later. But Oak Park (8-6-6, 5-3-1) helped the Lions' cause by playing St. Bonaventure (11-3-1, 6-0-1) to a 1-1 tie Friday, giving Oaks Christian an opportunity to share the title with a victory Feb. 6 over the Seraphs.

"It's basically in our hands, but we have to win out," Hethcock said. "Thank goodness we got past (Oak Park)."

Jillian Stowell gave Oaks Christian the lead in the fifth minute off an assist from Cassie Williams, playing a crossing pass off her chest, settling the ball on the ground and one-timing a shot past Alison James. Kristen Clark extended the advantage in the 29th minute after a corner kick got knocked around in the penalty area, gathering a soft touch pass from Dahl and slipping a shot inside the post.

"I thought we played well in the first half. We crashed well on their goal and I was glad we got the two-goal lead," Hethcock said. "But in the second half we had to hold on a little bit. Even with all those girls out, I thought we did a good job of defending. But any time (there's that amount of stoppage time), you never know what might happen."

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There has already been one significant scoring achievement in area girls' soccer this week.

Hart of Newhall's Sarina Coutin and Desert Christian of Lancaster's Robyn Estrada will take aim at another today.

After Highland of Palmdale junior Samantha Johnson set the program's all-time scoring record with her 72nd and 73rd career goals Thursday in the Bulldogs' 4-0 Golden League victory over Littlerock, Coutin and Estrada will both attempt to net career goal No. 100.

Coutin, who has 99 goals in 101 career matches, will try to solve the Foothill League's toughest defense when Hart -- the top-ranked team in Southern Section Div. II -- plays at No. 6 Saugus at 3:15 p.m. today.

Saugus (13-2-3, 3-1-1) has only surrendered three goals in league play, all coming Jan. 8 against Hart (14-2-4, 3-0-2). Coutin, a Cal State-Bakersfield-bound forward, scored an insurance goal late in the match against the Centurions after fellow senior Lindsay Mills help the Indians rally from an early deficit with her first two goals of the season.

Coutin, who has scored 21 times this season, was denied the milestone goal Tuesday in a 1-1 tie at Canyon of Canyon Country (13-4-3, 3-1-1), although she did assist on Mills' tying score in the 32nd minute.

Hart is unbeaten in its past 10 league matches and hasn't lost to Saugus since a 6-2 setback in Feb. 2006.

Estrada, a four-year starter, has been stuck on 97 career goals for more than a week after recording a hat trick Jan. 17 in a 5-1 High Desert League victory at Bishop Union. She has 21 goals this season after leading the Southern Section last year with 40.

Desert Christian (14-0-1, 7-0), the top-ranked team in Div. VI, is scheduled to play Desert of Edwards Air Force Base at 3 p.m. today at the Lancaster National Soccer Center. But the status of the match is questionable because of the recent inclement weather in the Antelope Valley.

Assistant coach Curtis Lewis said the Knights, who boast a 33-match unbeaten streak, practiced Thursday afternoon at the Soccer Center, but rain began to fall at a much more rapid rate as the evening progressed, leaving doubt as to whether the grass fields will be deemed playable this afternoon.

If today's contest is postponed, Estrada will have plenty opportunities to reach the 100-goal plateau next week, as Desert Christian is scheduled to play home matches in three consecutive days -- beginning Tuesday -- against Kern Valley of Lake Isabella, Mammoth and Mojave.

Coutin and Estrada are both attempting to become the first local girls' soccer player to score 100 career goals since Jessica Gordon did so for Village Christian of Sun Valley. Gordon (2002-06) ranks second in area history with 130 career goals.

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One of the best phone calls I received Thursday came from Flintridge Sacred Heart of La Canada Flintridge girls' soccer co-coach Frank Pace.

"We just survived the scare of our lives," a rain-soaked Pace said following a 1-0 Mission League victory over Alemany of Mission Hills at St. Francis High.

In a match that was originally scheduled to be played at Alemany (which boasts a grass and dirt field), Flintridge Sacred Heart (9-4-4, 4-0-1) moved into sole possession of first place ahead of idle Harvard-Westlake of Studio City (4-4-6, 3-0-1), benefitting from the FieldTurf surface at St. Francis and a goal on a 30-yard free kick by Pip Harragin in the 41st minute.

"(We played) in a monsoon," Pace said. "And (Katie) Rappazzo was great again tonight."

Rappazzo, Alemany's goalkeeper, recorded 11 saves, but her effort wasn't enough to halt a 27-match winless streak in league for the Warriors (3-10-1, 0-6).

"Afterward, I told (Alemany coach Cruz Hernandez) to win out," Pace said. "It doesn't matter to me who they beat. From this point on, any (Alemany) win will make me happy."

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Inclement weather allowed Highland of Palmdale and Littlerock to play only 33 minutes Thursday night in their Golden League girls’ soccer showdown, won 4-0 by the host Bulldogs.

Fortunately for Samantha Johnson, she needed less than 60 seconds to break the program record for goals.

After receiving a long pass from Ana Perez, Johnson fired a 6-yard shot from the left side, resulting in her 72nd career goal. That moved her past Sahar Haghdan (2001-05) — now at Long Beach State — for the top spot on the Bulldogs’ list.

"She just shrugged her shoulders and kept on playing," Highland coach Juan Paolo said. "If she wasn’t pass-first, she’d have 90 by now. What’s impressed me most is that she’s done it with a pass-first attitude all the time. She’s just an amazing player."

Johnson, who added two assists, recorded her 22nd goal of the season and 73rd of her career during a 13-minute second half that was called by the officials as rain hampered play on Highland's field. The USC-bound junior had a chance for a hat trick, but missed a penalty shot by six inches.

"(The record) isn’t that big of a deal to her. She's more concerned with helping us win games," Paolo said. "She told me that it will mean something when she gets to 100. Until then, she said 'Tonight was just another two goals.' "

Quartz Hill (12-4-1, 8-1) atoned for an earlier loss to Lancaster by defeating the Eagles 1-0 to remain in a first-place tie with Highland (11-4-2, 8-1). Stephanie Galarze, who recently returned from an ACL injury, scored off an assist from Alexa Hale for the Rebels.

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Samantha Johnson’s hat trick Tuesday not only helped the Highland of Palmdale girls’ soccer team remain in a first-place tie in the Golden League, but it also pulled the USC-bound junior even with Sahar Haghdan on the Bulldogs’ all-time scoring list.
Johnson accounted for all of Highland’s offense in a 3-1 victory at Knight of Palmdale, giving her 20 goals this season and 71 in her career, matching the four-year total of Haghdan (2001-05), now at Long Beach State.
Johnson, who helped Highland (10-4-2, 7-1) rebound from Friday’s 1-0 loss to Quartz Hill (11-4-1, 7-1), will try to set the record Friday against Littlerock.
"Even with all the goals, she's always been pass first, score second," Highland coach Juan Paolo said. "She's one of the most unselfish players I've ever been around. It's because of her that we have girls like Ana Perez and Leanne Brown scoring eight or nine goals. When Sam is out on the field, we have two of our players running loose all the time because every team has two or three players trying to stop her."
Johnson had 39 goals as a freshman, but only 12 last season as injuries and U.S. Under-16 national-team pool commitments limited her time with the Bulldogs. Sixteen of Johnson's goals this season have come in six league matches, including a season-high four Jan. 4 against Littlerock.

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Kirsten DiPippo has established herself as one of the area’s elite girls’ soccer players during her four-year career at Westlake, sharing Marmonte League Defensive Player of the Year honors last season with Moorpark’s Kaitlin Paletta.
During her first three seasons, DiPippo’s individual achievements translated into team success for the Warriors, as she led them to the Southern Section Div. II quarterfinals the past two years.
However, the graduation of Kylie McDonald (Pepperdine) and Kate Edwards (Rice) left DiPippo and fellow senior Krystin Shanklin surrounded by a young supporting cast this year, causing Westlake to lose six of its first seven league matches.
But with its postseason fate hanging in the balance Saturday, Westlake knocked off league-leading Thousand Oaks 1-0, bringing an end to the Lancers’ 19-match Marmonte unbeaten streak and keeping DiPippo’s quest for a fourth consecutive playoff berth alive.
The Daily News talked with DiPippo — who has been accepted by Colorado, Arizona State, Cal State Northridge and Cal State Fullerton — about the victory over Thousand Oaks and whether or not Westlake can rebound from its disappointing start to qualify for the postseason.
*******
Daily News: Did Saturday’s win help exorcise the demons of last year’s quarterfinal loss to Thousand Oaks, when you received a red card, causing you to miss the second half?
Kirsten DiPippo: Kind of. But Saturday wasn’t about me getting back at them. It was the last time as a senior playing against our rival school, so to beat T.O., especially since I play with a lot of those girls in club, they can’t say they beat us the last time they played against us, whether it’s this year or 20 years from now.

Continue reading "Chatting with Westlake soccer star Kirsten DiPippo" »

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Sarina Coutin scored one of the most significant goals in her career against Saugus when she broke Laura Qualls' 1997 program record for goals in a season as part of a 3-0 victory during her sophomore campaign.
Coutin will have to wait until Friday's showdown at 3:15 p.m. at Saugus to have another chance at a milestone -- her 100th career goal.
For the fourth time in the past two seasons, Coutin was held scoreless against Foothill League rival Canyon of Canyon Country in Tuesday's 1-1 tie, leaving her stuck on 99 goals in 101 career matches, including 21 in 20 contests this season.
Coutin did assist on Lindsay Mills' tying goal in the 32nd minute, allowing her to move closer to Erin Misaki's program record of 66. Misaki was the Indians' previous all-time scoring leader, recording 74 goals from 1995-99.
The Cal State Bakersfield-bound Coutin saw her best opportunity denied in the 56th minute when her 8-yard shot in the center of the penalty area was stopped by Canyon sophomore goalkeeper Alex Krall.
"I just didn't want Sari to score her 100th goal against us," said Canyon coach Keeli Paden, a Hart graduate. "I wouldn't have heard the end of it from (her dad Rick)."

Posted by Erik Boal at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hart of Newhall senior Sarina Coutin could score career goal No. 100 today when the Indians play at Foothill League rival Canyon of Canyon Country.
Coutin, who has 99 goals in 100 career matches, is looking to become the first local girls' soccer player to score 100 since Village Christian of Sun Valley's Jessica Gordon (2003-06) -- now at San Diego State -- who concluded her career as the area's second all-time leading scorer with 130.
Desert Christian of Lancaster's Robyn Estrada improved her career tally to 97 with a hat trick in Thursday's 5-1 High Desert League win over Bishop Union. But Estrada, who has helped the Knights put together a 33-match unbeaten streak, will have to wait until Friday to have a shot at adding to her total when Desert Christian plays host to Desert of Edwards Air Force Base at Lancaster National Soccer Center.
Both Coutin and Estrada enter the week with 21 goals, trailing Hollywood's Geyme Guzman (31), New Community Jewish of West Hills' Carmel Diamant (30) and Samantha Rise (22) among area leaders.

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