Moriah Earley from La Serna High School was selected as the Whittier Daily News All-Area Girls Soccer Player of the Year. (Keith Durflinger / Staff photographer)

Photo gallery: 2013 Whittier Daily News All-Area Girls Soccer Team

Player of the Year: MORIAH EARLEY, La Serna, Senior

La Serna’s Moriah Earley took her game to another level as she emerged as the top player for a talented Lancer team.

Earley scored a team-high 21 goals in helping to lead the Lancers to a Del Rio League title and the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 championship. One of Earley’s biggest moments came in La Serna’s 3-2 win over La Quinta in the Division 5 semifinals. She scored two goals with the latter being the game-winner.

For her outstanding season, Earley was named the Daily News Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

It was certainly a season of accomplishments for Earley, who was also named the most valuable player for both CIF-SS Division 5 and the Del Rio League.

“It was a great feeling,” Earley said on the Lancers’ successful season. “We worked for a long time for this and for it to finally happen was a good feeling. We just worked hard and we trusted each other to get it done.”

Earley followed up her heroics against La Quinta by scoring a goal in La Serna’s 3-0 triumph over Cabrillo of Lompoc in the CIF-SS Division 5 title game. As a result of the Lancers capturing the divisional crown, they earned their first berth to the CIF-Southern California Regional Soccer Championships.

La Serna coach Tessa Troglia said of Earley, “She came a long way from the beginning of the season. She was a good leader for us and she got the other girls to buy into our vision. She did everything we asked her to do. She is a good student of the game.”

Earley, a four-year varsity player, recently committed to USC.

“I like the program and the school,” Earley said of the Trojans. “It was just a good fit.”

When she prepares for a match, Earley said, “I pray, read my Bible, listen to my music and just try to get into the zone.”

Earley put together an impressive postseason for the Lancers, scoring six goals in as many games.

Coach of the Year: TESSA TROGLIA, La Serna

Troglia guided a Lancers team that made its share of history this season. After capturing the Del Rio League title, La Serna went on to capture the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 championship by defeating Cabrillo of Lompoc 3-0. It marked the second time La Serna won a CIF-SS divisional crown with the first coming in 2008.

As a result of their CIF-SS divisional triumph, the Lancers also qualified for the CIF-Southern California Regional Soccer Championships for the first time in school history.

For her efforts, Troglia was named the Daily News Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.

“I feel very blessed just to have an opportunity to coach a diverse group of girls,” Troglia said. “It’s a good feeling. They became everything that we hoped for. They ended up being a dynamic team that could attack through several outlets. They put La Serna in the limelight a little more.”

Troglia was also named the All-CIF coach of the year for Division 5.