Barons stay perfect

Ally Bebout has definitely grown into a bigger role this season for the Fountain Valley High girls’ soccer team.

Bebout has a lot of responsibility not only as a center back, but also as a junior team captain, one of three captains for the Barons.

“I’m kind of the one to set the tempo, versus last year, me trying to prove myself,” Bebout said. “It was super nerve-wracking.”

On Tuesday afternoon, she made sure her coach Scott Goldman didn’t have any similar nerve-wracking moments in the Barons’ nonleague game at Ocean View.

Fountain Valley’s defense pitched a shutout and sophomore Samantha Valdez’s free kick goal in the 31st minute held up as the Barons edged the Seahawks, 1-0.

The Barons (4-0) have already nearly matched their win total from a season ago, when they were 5-16-4 and 2-7-1 in the Sunset League, tied for fourth place in the six-team league. Bebout’s emergence is a key reason why.

“I feel like this year is actually probably our best year in the past 10 years,” Bebout said. “I feel like we can hang this year, so I’m excited to play Edison and Huntington. I don’t think they’re going to expect it. I didn’t expect it, even, but we came out 4-0. It should be a good season.”

The defense was led by Bebout and fellow juniors Haley Wittick, Brianna Giuntoli and Paige Frink, along with junior goalie Kiana Flores (four saves). They shut down host Ocean View (2-2), which tried to use senior forward Kaci Montoya to score a counterattack goal.

“They played that counterattack to [Montoya], their center forward, and that could have hurt us,” Goldman said. “But I thought we adjusted well in the second half. Sometimes you struggle putting the ball in the back of the net, but defensively we settled in well. We denied that dangerous counterattack. I’d say our defenders definitely stepped up today.

“We’re young and we have a deep roster. We’re keeping things very balanced. We had a lot of injuries last season, which really hurt us early. This year, we’ve stayed healthy and we’re keeping our energy up.”

Valdez scored the only goal that Fountain Valley would need, converting on a free kick from 30 yards out and sticking it into the upper-left corner.

The Barons had a couple of other good chances late in the match, as Wittick’s shot from outside the box was tipped over the cage by Ocean View sophomore keeper Jasmine Rocha (nine saves). Then, the Barons’ Marissa Lynch had a header attempt in the box that went just wide. But the goal lead would hold up.

Ocean View Coach Jose Sanchez said he was proud of his defense, led by Rocha, sophomore sweeper Nancy Cabrera, seniors Lauren Reynolds and Daisy Moran and junior Daniela Moran.

But Sanchez said that Daisy Moran, the team captain, was battling sickness on Tuesday and was unable to play the full game. And the striker, Montoya, had to be taken out a couple of times as well as she deals with a back injury.

Still, the second-year coach Sanchez sees a good season ahead for the Seahawks, who won the Golden West League title last year.

“Defensively it was a good game for my girls, I think,” he said. “A few mistakes here and there, but I think defensively they stood their own. That’s what I want to take away from this game … It was only 1-0, and I think we still had our chances to tie the game. I’m really optimistic about the season. We’re going to have a good season if we keep playing the way we are.”

Ocean View plays at University on Thursday, before both Ocean View and Fountain Valley resume play in the Ocean View tournament on Saturday. The Seahawks play against Rosary at 8 a.m., while the Barons have their final pool-play game against Laguna Hills at 9:20 a.m.

The tournament semifinals follow later Saturday, with the title game on Monday.