Huntington Beach girls’ soccer tops Edison in Best in the West final
GARDEN GROVE — Raul Ruiz has added some exceptional young talent to a veteran squad, and his Huntington Beach girls team appeared to be in midseason form as it rolled to one of the 11 varsity championships in Newport Harbor’s prestigious Best in the West Winter Soccer Classic.
The Oilers, ranked eighth in CIF Southern Section‘s combined Division 1 and 2 poll, toppled Surf League rival Edison in Saturday afternoon’s second-tier EFGH bracket title game, sealing a 3-0 victory behind dazzling efforts from USC-bound forward Jaiden Anderson and freshman midfielder Sienna McAthy.
Anderson scored two goals after the break and assisted McAthy’s first-half strike as Huntington Beach (8-2 overall) used its skill and maturity to dominate a young Chargers side in a 70-minute match at Bolsa Grande High School.
The Oilers were solid at the back, conceding little until the result was secured early in the second half, and connected in attack, with Anderson’s speed, guile and touch carving holes through Edison’s defense.
Anderson scored her 17th and 18th goals of the season in the 41st and 42nd minutes. She tallied her 16th goal in a 2-1 semifinal victory over Capistrano Valley earlier Saturday.
“Aside from Jaiden’s speed, there’s so many qualities in her,” Ruiz said. “The way she sees and reads the backline to understand the space behind the backline, that’s something that she’s matured. And now she can finish. The team rallies behind her.”
The Oilers outscored four foes, 14-2, over two weekends, building from a foundation last year’s team constructed en route to the Division 1 playoffs.
“We’re trying to play more possession-based and building going forward, and we’re really working hard in practice and good attitude,” Anderson said. “Good attitude is really a big factor because last year, we were a little off with that, and this year is much different. We’re hoping to go pretty far. We think we can go pretty far this year.”
McAthy, one of three freshmen starting in Huntington Beach’s midfield, has already found a connection with Anderson, and her combination of pace, skill and composure has been critical for this side. She did most of the work on her goal five minutes into the game, playing a quick give-and-go with Anderson, whose backheel McAthy took near the top of the box before zig-zagging past three defenders and toe-poking past goalkeeper Mackenzie Yoder. The assist was Anderson’s 15th.
“We like to play touch and move,” McAthy said. “[We] love scoring, just combine with each other, and we’re finding each other really well.”
McAthy had the assist on the third goal, delivering a through ball on a counterattack from which Anderson rounded goalkeeper Chloe Pajaro. One minute later, Anderson headed home a mistimed chip pass from Edison midfielder Grace Cogan.
“I was a little surprised,” Anderson said. “It was very random.”
Edison (3-3-2) struggled to create much offense before it was 3-0, then came up with a good half-dozen opportunities in the final 18 minutes. Sophomore center back Riley Crooks, daughter of head coach Kerry Crooks, came closest to finding the net, picking up the clearance of her long throw-in on the left flank, driving into the box and taking a shot that Oilers goalkeeper Yzabelle Marrero parried away.
Kerry Crooks was pleased with the Chargers’ effort in a 3-0 semifinal win over University and against Huntington Beach.
“Today was the first day we’ve been combining a lot better,” she said. “We need more games like that, and then the finish [at the net] will come later. Today we played some decent soccer. We showed that we can compete with those type teams, we just have to eliminate the errors little by little.”
Corona del Mar (9-0-1), ranked third in Division 3, routed Flintridge Prep, 4-1, in the MNOP final through first-half goals by Alexa Rokos, Isabella Thomas, Isabella Garza and Brea Sofferman. Garza also tallied in CdM’s 3-0 semifinal win over Beckman Saturday.
Laguna Beach also reached the QRST final, falling on penalty kicks to Marlborough after a 1-1 draw. Rylee Goode scored her second goal of the day for the Breakers (3-2-4), who conceded a second-half equalizer.
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