Corona del Mar Edges Griffins Girls in Penalty Kicks

The Outcome... Corona del Mar Edges Los Alamitos, 9-8, in Penalty Kicks

 Orange County’s girls soccer game of the year may have taken place Tuesday afternoon at Corona del Mar High, where the Sea Queens squeaked by visiting Los Alamitos, 9-8, in a match that lasted nearly three hours. Eighty minutes of regulation wasn’t nearly enough. Nor would 20 minutes of ‘sudden death’ overtime and a penalty kick session suffice.

 The CIF Southern Section Division 1 second-round match required two series of penalty kicks to determine which team would advance to a quarterfinals clash with top-ranked San Clemente. After her team surrendered a late 1-0 lead in regulation, Sea Queens sophomore Maddie O’Connor scored on her team’s final penalty kick opportunity to push Corona del Mar past the Griffins in grand fashion.

"We've never had a crescendo like that before,“ Corona del Mar coach Bryan Middleton said. “We had penalty kicks last year in the first round, but it wasn't much of a pressure-cooker-type situation like this. It was more excitement today because we had the game wrapped up, and they scored in the last minute to tie it. It was that big of a deal to believe we could get the result in overtime, and get the job done in penalty kicks.”

The Turning Point... Sea Queens Withstand Los Alamitos’ Early Offensive Assault

The field appeared to be placed on a tilt throughout much of the match. Los Alamitos, ranked No. 8 in the final Division 1 coaches’ poll, dominated possession during the first half and didn’t let off the gas in the game’s second session.

The Griffins outshot Corona del Mar, 5-1, in the first half and came close to entering intermission with an advantage. Taylor Vargo put a tremendous move on her defenders to garner a great scoring opportunity with under a minute to play in the half.

Vargo spun to her left before firing a shot on net. Sea Queens goalkeeper Lindsey Luke jumped in front of the attempt but couldn’t corral the rebound, which trickled a few feet beyond her. Los Alamitos (16-7-4)  had one more late attempt off the rebound, but Luke again got in the way, this time grabbing the ball in the process, and sent the teams into intermission knotted in a scoreless stalemate.

“I think those two point-blank saves at the end of the half turned out to be the plays of the game,” Los Alamitos coach Steve Soler said. “We made it a point to cut every angle off and  apply pressure from the beginning, and if we had been able to score first, the entire game would’ve changed. [Corona del Mar] was kind of sitting on their toes, but once they scored it took a lot out of us."

Sea Queens’ junior Allyson Brahs buried the game’s first goal eight minutes into the second half and seized control for the Sea Queens (16-3-4), despite the fact that the home team managed only two shots on net during the entire 100-minute span of game action.

“I really thought [Los Alamitos] dominated us in the first half,” O’Connor said. “We came out very strong in the second half because we wanted to get some control back. Things were pretty even the rest of the way.”

The Difference... “Cool Hand Luke” Took Her Game to Another Level

Luke’s saves to close the first half only gave an indication of the dominance she would display for the remainder of the game. The goalkeeper is arguably the best defensive backstop  in Southern California and earned a full scholarship to Wake Forest with her skills.

She stopped 12 shots on Tuesday, narrowly missing her 13th save when Los Alamitos’ Callie Taulor snuck one to the back of the net to tie the score at one goal apiece with under two minutes remaining in regulation. Luke was fearless, routinely sprinting out of the net to cut of centering passes and disrupt the Griffins’ attack.

“[Luke] was spectacular,” Soler said. “She came up huge time and time again against us.”

Middleton has grown to truly appreciate his senior standout during his team’s title hunt.

“Lindsey is a big-time player,” Middleton said. “In many situations this year, she has carried our team with big saves and she did again today, pulling us through for a huge win.”

It was Over When... Maddie O’Connor Punctuated Pressure-Filled Penalty Kicks

Each of the Sea Queens’ starters had taken their penalty kicks, not to mention a number of bench players, when O’Connor stepped up for the biggest kick of her high school career. The sophomore represented Corona del Mar’s final hope in the second series of PKs, which alternated five attempts between each team.

“I never thought I’d end up taking a PK shot because I was pretty far back in line and figured it wouldn’t last that long,” O’Connor said. “When I had to actually go up I was pretty confident, but still very nervous. After I made the shot, I tried not to get too excited because they had a chance to tie it again. Once they missed, I was ecstatic.”

O’Connor’s conversion proved to be the difference in a bizarrely stressful second-round playoff match. 

The Aftermath... Win Sends Sea Queens to Quarterfinal at Top-Seeded San Clemente

Tuesday’s harrowing escape earned Corona del Mar the right to take on a highly-talented San Clemente (17-2-7) squad on Thursday. The Sea Queens’ quarterfinal takes place on the top-seeded Tritons’ home turf and represents the first of three matches that separate the Pacific Coast League champs from a coveted CIF title.

“This win definitely gives us a lot more confidence as a team,” O’Connor said. “But we’ve got to remember that the San Clemente match is going to be just as tough, if not harder. It’s going to take another great effort.”

Los Alamitos must live with the result of a heartbreaking road loss.

“I’m very proud of the way we played today,” Soler said. “Our girls played with a lot of intensity and proved their not intimidated by anyone. It’s unfortunate it had to come to this but we’re knocking on the door and soon we’ll break through.”

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