Cougars slip past Sea Kings

Bryce Alderton

Much like the dirt field they trampled upon, players from the Corona

del Mar High girls soccer team showed a degree of grit Saturday

against Capistrano Valley, a South Coast League soccer stronghold, to

wrap up pool play in the 16-team Mater Dei tournament at Centennial

Park.

Goals were hard to come by for either team, but Capo Valley broke

through for the game’s lone score in the second half -- during the

39th minute -- to send the Sea Kings to their second straight 1-0

setback. Tournament games have 35-minute halves instead of the

traditional 40-minute intervals.

Following a corner kick, Capo Valley senior forward Kim Horn

headed a ball that CdM goalkeeper Katie Schiesser re-directed with

her hands. Unfortunately for Schiesser and CdM, the ball hit the

crossbar, landed on the ground and trickled in.

Schiesser, a junior, made five saves on eight Capo shots, but

received defensive support from senior captain Kinzie Kramer and

junior Tanisha Senaratne, who constantly marked their opponents,

making it difficult for the Cougars -- a taller team -- to get into

any rhythm.

Both teams fired two shots in the first half as a majority of the

game took place at midfield.

“We played hard the whole way and had chances to score, but we

have to finish,” CdM Coach Bryan Middleton said. “Defensively we were

strong, but every once in a while we would will slip up and it cost

us [Saturday]. [The Cougars] like to use their size and body, but I

thought we showed heart.”

CdM (1-4-1) had its two best chances to score in the first half on

a line-drive shot by sophomore forward Kelly Morgan and a one-hop

boot off the foot of freshman Ali Torres, but Capo goalkeeper Christi

Yount stopped both balls.

Capo (3-1-1) was without three of its starters due to injuries,

but Coach Gui Gui Ferreira said the game served its pre-league

purpose.

“I’m trying to feel my team out and get them to play better, that

is all that matters at this point in the season,” Ferreira said.

CdM had injury and illness of its own. Sophomore forward Taylor

Fallon didn’t play because of the flu and sophomore Lindsay Manning

left the game in the 15th minute after colliding in the air with Capo

midfielder Tifney Reeve as the two leaped for the ball. Manning sat

on the ground for about five minutes before being helped off the

field by Middleton and a trainer, putting little weight on her left

leg.

Middleton said he was told Manning’s injury was a thigh contusion

above the knee. But Manning, who ran cross country in the fall, could

put enough weight on the leg to shake hands with the Cougars after

the game.

“It will take her awhile to get her soccer legs ready,” said

Middleton, who much like Ferriera, is experimenting with players at

various positions after losing seven seniors to graduation.

“I have two freshman forwards [Torres and Alex Tobiesson],

[sophomore] Jessica Mazura and [senior] Brook Burgner,” Middleton

said. “I’m trying [sophomore] Rachel Yelsey off-and-on at center

midfielder.”

Sophomore midfielder Hannah Rollins booted several balls into the

Capo zone while junior Vanessa Fallon stopped many charging

attackers. Sophomore Phoebe Chang made a key save in the first minute

of the second half when she extended her leg to knock a centering

pass above the CdM goal away from Schiesser, who made six saves in a

1-0 loss to Martin Luther King on Friday.

In their first six games, the Sea Kings have played Mater Dei,

Aliso Niguel, Martin Luther King and Capo Valley, while tying Dana

Hills, all teams in the tournament. Dana Hills and Mater Dei each

advanced to the tournament semifinals while the other three teams --

all in CdM’s pool -- were still alive as of early Saturday afternoon.

“This will prepare us for [the Pacific Coast League],” Middleton

said. “We gained a lot of experience from this.”