San Dimas Jeanette Jimenez enjoys playoff ride in Saints’ 10-0 win
By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
After scoring three goals in San Dimas’ easy 10-0 victory over visiting Oxford Academy in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 girls soccer playoffs, senior midfielder Jeanette Jimenez walked off with an ice pack on her knee, a reminder that she wasn’t part of the Saints team that reached the divisional final a year ago.
Jimenez, who will play at USC next fall, is magic in the midfield with the ball at her feet, but she hasn’t been around to showcase her skills since arriving as a talented freshman.
Jimenez was injured in league as a sophomore and missed the playoffs, and tore her ACL last year, cheering her teammates on the sidelines as they were eliminated in the championship game.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve got to experience this and I’m giving it 110 percent,” Jimenez said. “This is it for a lot of us. We’ve got a lot of seniors and we’re determined to get back to the championship and finish the job.”
Inland Insider Highlights and Reaction: The Chino Hills Huskies defeated the La Mirada Matadors 4-1 in a CIF Division 3 Girls soccer game at Chino Hills. After taking an early 1-0 lead the Matadors held the Huskies till the 60th minute when a defensive mixup allowed Kara Tabita from CH give them a 2-0 lead. It got close, at 2-1 but Ashley Gonzales scored 2 goals in the final 8 minutes to help the Huskies move on into the Quarter finals.
GIRLS SOCCER
Wednesday’s second round results
Division 3
Bonita 3, Granite Hills 2
Chino Hills 4, La Mirada 1
Ayala 2, Quartz Hill 0
Bishop Amat 3, Yorba Linda 1
Claremont 2, Pasadena Poly 0
Diamond Bar 2, Serrano 1
St. Lucy’s 4, Mayfair 1
Division 6
Sierra Vista 5, Wilson 1
Segerstrom 4, Ganesha 0
San Dimas 10, Oxford Academy 0
Division 7
Citrus Valley 8, Arroyo 1
Firebaugh 3, Rosemead 3 (Firebaugh advances, 2-1 on penalties)
Division 3 Quarterfinals
Friday’s matchups
Bonita at Chino Hills, 3 p.m.
Bishop Amat at Ayala, 3 p.m.
Diamond Bar at Claremont, 3 p.m.
Placentia Valencia vs. St. Lucys at Damien, 3 p.m.
PREGAME: If there is anything to be learned from winter sports, it’s that area girls soccer is the strongest of all. There is a really good chance of area domination in Division 3. I will not be surprised at all if area D-3 teams go 7-for-7, which would set up a wild quarterfinal and finish over the next two weeks. But then again, picking favorites in soccer is no gimmie when games are decided by one or two goals. But still, the area is in good shape and the Sierra League could send all four to the quarterfinals and if Bishop Amat wins too, you have a great quarterfinal match-up of Amat and Ayala, a rematch from last year’s championship, on Friday. One of the intriguing area games today is Wilson hosting Sierra Vista in D-6 and last year’s D-6 finalist San Dimas against Oxford Academy which will be played at Bonita. D-7 is so watered down that I love Rosemead and Arroyo’s chances of going on a deep run, which is why girls soccer will appear so dominant. There is the potential for three CIF champions in the seven divisions. But today is crucial, we’ll see what’s left and I need all of your help, there are far too many games to cover. Send me your updates on sgvtribpreps@twitter so I can retweet scores and update the blog. And coaches, please, please, call us with your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email to scores @sgvn.com. Some parents have emailed wondering why we’re not writing up certain games in the paper, the answer is as simple as we get no calls from head coaches. As you can see, there are lots of games today, so we need help. I have not seen San Dimas this year and will be at its game today tweeting updates. I also chose San Dimas for practical reasons, I need to cover La Canada-Covina girls basketball tonight, and this allows me to write my story, post scores and get to Covina in time for the game. For all other results, we need your help. By the quarterfinals, we should be able to cover most games. Good luck tonight.
San Dimas (21-2-2) is the second seed and will travel to face Loara in Friday’s quarterfinals.
The Saints jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first 20 minutes against the overmatched Patriots (12-10-1) and never looked back.
Audrey Vasquez and Daisy Duran each had two goals and Maribel Duran and Amanda Nalbandian scored a goal each.
It’s been an interesting year for the Saints, who got a new coach midway through the season after the sudden resignation of Kelly Kocalis, who left for personal reasons.
Joe Lurker, an under-19 premiere coach with the La Verne Lazers, took over and was immediately impressed with what he inherited.
“When I took over I asked them (players) to write down their goals and every single girl at one point said I want to get back to the CIF final,” Lurker said. “I didn’t have to do anything, the motivation was there.”
Lurker didn’t expect such a lopsided victory in the second round of the playoffs and knows it will get more difficult in the subsequent rounds, but he didn’t want to lighten up either.
“We didn’t need 10 goals,” Lurker said. “But I didn’t want to pull them back. I want them to keep going, keep experiencing this and to be familiar with doing the right things at the right times because there’s no better place to practice all of this than in a playoff game.”
Although he wasn’t completely familiar with Jimenez when he took over, he realizes what a gem he has.
“I didn’t know all the girls, but I’ve gotten to know them over the last month,” Lurker said. “Jeanette’s one of those special girls. She wasn’t a captain when I came in and I kind of kept things the same. But she’s more than captain material. She leads the team in the midfield and pulls our strings.
“She’s been through a lot from everything I’ve heard. For all that she’s been through, she works extremely hard and she’s a team player through and through.”
