Story by Christianne Duley
Staff Writer
Photo by Helena Easterby
Staff Videographer
The Tigers won the first round of CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs against Santa Fe, crushing them 6-1 on Wednesday, Feb. 12. Girls’ soccer dominated both halves, scoring two points in the first half and four points in the second half.
Junior Maggie McDonald started off the game strong by scoring within the first 10 minutes by blowing through Santa Fe’s weak defense. The Tigers held the offensive, while senior goalie Ava Hartstein prevented the Chiefs from scoring when the tables turned. In a heated struggle for the ball, freshman Kaia Trainedes took control and beelined for the goal, dashing past Santa Fe’s defense and scoring.
The Chiefs put up more of a fight for the remainder of the first half, as both goalies loyally defended their respective sides. Nevertheless, girls’ soccer didn’t back down. Trainedes continuously weaved between Sante Fe while junior Rose Vandevelde stole the ball from under the Chiefs’ feet.
Santa Fe started the second half on offense, but this quickly changed when junior Amada Cortes bypassed the Chiefs’ defense by passing the ball to sophomore Kennedy Chang, who then slammed it into the goal with one clean kick. Following an offense from the Chiefs, the Tigers were allowed an indirect free kick, resulting in Trainedes scoring another point. Throughout the game, Santa Fe’s defense couldn’t keep up with girls’ soccer, while the goalie was fruitless in her efforts to hinder the Tigers’ masterful onslaughts.
Girls’ soccer saw some close calls as Hartstein caught the ball before it could enter the goal. By preventing the Chiefs from scoring, the Tigers went back on the offensive, and sophomore Vasi Voloshin dominated the ball as she sent it past the goalie and straight into the net. Santa Fe’s time finally arrived when a chaotic scuffle occurred at the Tigers’ goal. As the ball rebounded between both sides, one Santa Fe player quickly sent the ball flying just past Hartstein’s fingertips and scored.
Santa Fe still couldn’t gain the upper hand, as sophomore Alice Rowley refused to let them approach the goal again. After the Chiefs received a yellow card — allowing the Tigers another free kick — junior Tara Murray closed the game by soaring the ball over the goalie and changing the final score to 6-1.
“I saw all my teammates fight super hard for the win, which paid off in the end,” Hartstein said. “In my past years at this school, the team has stopped at the first round of CIF, so it was really amazing to win and continue the season.”
Girls’ soccer will head into the second round of CIF by facing off against La Mirada at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14.
