Girls’ Soccer: Eagles stunned in OT
ONTARIO — Two high school girls’ soccer coaches in their seventh season in charge met Tuesday in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 5 playoffs.
Estancia Coach Jessica Perry and Ontario Colony Coach John Cortez each wanted to lead their teams to the CIF quarterfinals for the first time in their respective tenures.
The game would be decided by the players on the field. But after his Titans pulled off a stunning 3-2 overtime comeback win at Colony High, with junior Christine Vandenberg scoring the golden goal, Cortez pulled a fortune cookie message from his wallet.
“You may lose the small ones, but you win the big ones,” read the slip of paper, which Cortez said he got during a Valentine’s Day meal of Chinese food with his wife.
“That’s the way our season has gone,” said Cortez, after his team, ranked No. 10 in the final Division 5 poll, upset No. 5 Estancia. “Rankings don’t mean [anything]. We’ll play against anybody. We’re not afraid.”
Fortune hasn’t been with the Eagles (19-4-3), who failed to hold a two-goal lead in the second half and have failed to make it out of the second round of CIF under Perry.
This year was supposed to be different, as Estancia battled to win a share of the Orange Coast League title and expected to make a deep postseason run. Things looked good Tuesday after senior forward Alondra Guzman, the team’s leading scorer, added to her tally in the 51st minute on a low shot from the right that Colony’s goalie Natalie Yep couldn’t handle.
Estancia went up, 2-0, but Colony immediately responded a minute later. This time it was the Titans’ leading scorer, sophomore forward Elizabeth Rivera, who created a chance for a teammate. She crossed the ball from the right to Caeylee Esquivel, who headed it in near the left post.
Colony then tied the score in the 64th minute, on a perfectly placed free kick from 35 yards out by sophomore Sarah Dean. The kick, from near the Colony sideline, went cross-cage and into the upper right corner of the net.
Guzman nearly scored again in the 79th minute on a pass from senior co-captain Alba Barrios, but offside was called. The game would go to golden-goal overtime.
There, a girl in a green headband hurt the Eagles seven minutes in. After they couldn’t clear a deep throw-in by Rebecca Gonzales, Vandenberg tapped the ball in from the middle of the box. Her teammates stormed the field as the Titans (16-4-2), the second-place team from the Mt. Baldy League, completed the comeback.
Estancia was short-handed in the overtime. Perry said that senior defender and co-captain Sarah Leahy had to come out of the game because she was feeling dizzy, and junior midfielder Ashley McHugh (sick) and freshman forward Lexina McDowell also were out.
“We tried, but there’s no excuses,” Perry said. “We gave up three unanswered goals. This team, we brought the heart. We brought as much as we possibly could. It just didn’t go our way … it was in our fingertips, we had it and it just fell apart.”
Senior goalie Caitlin Leahy made four saves for Estancia. The Leahy twins, junior co-captain Samantha Falasco and sophomores Katarina Freiberger and Delani Guyot combined to shine on defense for the Eagles, who generated most of the scoring chances throughout the match. Freiberger gave Estancia its 1-0 halftime lead, scoring on a free kick from 32 yards out in the 20th minute that sailed into the upper part of the net.
Plenty of tears were shed by Estancia players and coach alike after the final whistle. Perry said the Eagles’ senior class of the Leahy twins, Guzman, Barrios and Gianna Guyot was special.
“I’ve watched them all grow up, and they’re fantastic young ladies now,” Perry said, her voice starting to crack. “They’re moving on to bigger and better things. I told them that soccer is a huge part of your life, and a lot of the time it’s the best part of your life, but there’s other things that come along. I’m excited to see what happens to them on their next adventure.
“This group of four girls have been with me. I was Jessica Gatica, then I [got married and] was Jessica Perry, and now I’m a mom. They’ve seen all of those transitions happen for me, so I feel like I’ve grown up with them and experienced a lot of amazing things in my life and shared those with them. They hold a special place in my heart. I know I can say that every year, but these four, five including Gianna, they’ve left a big imprint on this program. They’ve left a big imprint on my life.”
Perry said she believed that this was the year her team could make a deep postseason run. But beyond the results on the pitch, she said that being a new mother to her son Ben has somewhat changed her coaching perspective.
“Estancia has blessed me with the opportunity to meet so many amazing families and their amazing children,” she said. “Especially now being a mom, I understand that I have their prized possessions with me for three months of the year. I just hope that I have taught them something they can walk away with, and have a positive experience from Estancia soccer. I want to win as much as the next coach, but at the end of the day it’s about turning these girls into smart, strong and fantastic young ladies.”
Colony will play at No. 4-seeded La Serna in the Division 5 quarterfinals on Thursday.
