Girls’ Soccer: Estancia moves on in CIF
In the quiet moments of an Estancia High girls’ soccer game, it isn’t rare to hear a voice directed at junior forward Emily Rodriguez.
It comes from the woman always sitting in the front of the stands at the Eagles’ offensive end. It’s Rodriguez’s grandma, Liz, who is always there to provide support to her granddaughter “Em.”
“I’m happy that she can come to the games,” Emily Rodriguez said. “Her cheering for me always makes me happy. We have a special bond.”
The Rodriguez family had a lot to cheer about Thursday night, for sure.
Emily scored the first goal in the 11th minute and Estancia went on to a 2-0 home victory over Xavier Prep of Palm Desert in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 5 playoffs.
Junior Olivia Khoury had a goal and an assist for the Eagles, who will play Ontario Colony in the second round on Tuesday. Colony got past Tahquiz, 4-0, in another first-round game. The site of Tuesday’s game will be determined by coin flip on Friday morning.
Estancia (19-3-3), which shared the Orange Coast League championship, dominated possession and scoring opportunities against Xavier Prep (9-6-4), the third-place team from the Desert Valley League.
“What I was excited about is the fact that the offense kept coming,” Estancia Coach Jessica Perry said. “We kept creating these opportunities. If we’re hitting our stride right now, it’s perfect timing. It’s the playoffs; we’ll take a win however we can get it at this point. We’re excited to be moving in the right direction. I feel like we had energy left in the tank, which is great. Hopefully we’ll be able to bring the same attitude, personality, enthusiasm to the game on Tuesday.”
Rodriguez struck first for Estancia, taking Khoury’s pass and zooming into the right side of the box. Xavier Prep goalie Catherine Aguilar (six saves) charged, but Rodriguez struck the ball back into the lower-left corner of the net.
“She has a secret gear,” Perry said of the speedy Rodriguez. “If she gets the space, she can just take off and there’s no catching her. Her feet move so fast that sometimes I’m not sure she knows exactly what’s going on, but she’s got an idea in her head and she’s determined to get there. Her small stature, it doesn’t compare with the heart and energy she brings.”
The Eagles doubled their lead early in the second half. In the 43rd minute, senior Alondra Guzman dribbled the ball up the field before crossing it to Khoury right in front of the net. The transfer from Edison stuck it in, adding the insurance goal.
“It was so hard watching,” said Khoury, who had to sit out the first month of the season after transferring. “It’s been really good to play. I love it here.”
The game was physical throughout, although no cards were handed out. Senior midfielder Alba Barrios, known for her temper, said keeping it together was important.
“Now that we’re in the playoffs, every team’s going to be physical,” Barrios said. “It’s going to be a battle every single game. This team got third place [in league], but we didn’t let that get to us.”
Senior keeper Caitlin Leahy made three saves for Estancia, which also had junior Brandi White create scoring chances with a couple of nice crosses and sophomore Katarina Freiberger consistently play the ball up the field. Corner kicks from Sarah Leahy and Lindsay Avalos also provided chances, but the Eagles couldn’t find the back of the net again.
“These seniors have just put in so much work, and you could just see the determination in their eyes,” Perry said. “The younger girls are feeding off of it, and it’s just what every coach wants to see. The younger girls are getting an amazing example set for them, and so hopefully we can carry this through.”
The Eagles settled for the 2-0 win, and are motivated to win in the next round as well. In Perry’s seven-year tenure, Estancia has never made it past the second round of CIF.
An effort like Thursday night’s could get the Eagles into the quarterfinals or beyond.
“The energy was there the entire game, from the get-go,” Barrios said. “I think our energy was a lot higher than theirs. It was a team effort today. I think everyone played well, even the subs that came in. They all worked so hard. It was really nice to see that.”
