Briefs: CdM equestrian team fares well

The Corona del Mar High equestrian team had its first two shows of the season this past weekend at Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park in San Juan Capistrano.

CdM competes with over 70 other schools in the Orange County Interscholastic Equestrian League. Riders compete on behalf of their schools equestrian team in novice, freshman, junior varsity and varsity divisions. The season consists of eight shows from October to January with points awarded to both individual riders and top teams. Competition includes Western and English hunter/jumper classes.

CdM has riders in junior varsity and varsity divisions. In Saturday’s show, McKay Murtaugh was fourth overall in the junior varsity division with a win in the working hunters over fences division. Danica Kohut was fourth in the varsity equitation over fences class and Erin Fry won the varsity medal class. Madeline Golden also won a class in the varsity jumper division.

On Sunday, the second show of the season Erin Fry was champion in the varsity division winning three of her four classes including the IEL medal for the second day in a row.

In team competition, CdM finished fourth in the JV division on Saturday and third in the varsity division both on Saturday and Sunday.

The next two shows of the season take place Nov. 6 and 7 at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Center in San Juan Capistrano.

Many riders on high school equestrian teams go on to compete on the NCAA Division I level.

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Women’s soccer

UC Irvine, ranked No. 18 nationally this week, plays host to Cal State Northridge in a Big West Conference showdown tonight at 6 at Anteater Stadium.

UCI, 12-1-2 overall, is 4-0 in the Big West to sit atop the league standings with 12 points. Cal State Northridge, 8-6-0 overall and 3-1 in the conference, is in second place with nine points.

Coach Scott Juniper’s Anteaters earned two wins on the Central Coast over the weekend, defeating Cal Poly, 3-0, last Friday and UC Santa Barbara, 2-1 in double overtime Sunday.

UCI has won its last nine games and is undefeated in the past 12. The Anteaters moved up to No. 18 in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll and is No. 19 in the Soccer America poll. UCI is third in the NSCAA West Region.

In a 3-0 victory at Cal Poly Oct. 8, junior Lexi Kopf and senior Tanya Taylor scored first-half goals with the assists going to Taylor and senior Nikki Forrest, respectively.

Sophomore Mar Rodriguez completed the scoring with a second-half goal on assist from Lexi Kopf.

Senior keeper Danielle de Seriere recorded her seventh shutout of the season.

In Sunday’s dramatic, 2-1 win at UCSB, sophomore Alexis Rafael scored with one minute left in the second overtime at the 109:00 mark for the victory. Taylor set up Rafael with a pass for the game-winning goal. Freshman Zuri Walker scored her first collegiate goal in the first half on an assist from Forrest.

Senior keeper Danielle de Seriere has the lowest goals-against average in UCI career history at 0.84. She is second all-time at UCI in shutouts with 27 and is third with 241 career saves.

— From staff reports