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As soon as Lady Centaurs’ Hayley Pina touches the ball, she usually draws a double team. Photo, George Laase.
Culver City High School’s girls soccer team, second in the Ocean League at 8-1-1, and 13-5-3 overall, will start their road to the CIF Southern Section Division IV championships on Friday evening at 7.
They will take a short bus ride down Pacific Coast Highway to play South High. The Spartans tied for first place in the Pioneer League with hometown rival Torrance at 9-1, and they had an overall record of 17-5-3.
The game’s outcome should hinge on ball control and mid-field play since both teams are noted for having stellar offenses and stingy defenses.
Culver only allowed five goals during league play, while South High let in seven goals. The Lady Centaurs’ defense, led by goalkeepers Daniella Gutierrez, had 13 shutouts while the Spartans had 10.
Megan Gerez, Tatiana Estrada, Cheyenne Thomas, Samantha Simon are defensive starters, with Miya Torimura, Isabella Avincola, Paola Cueva supporting off the bench.
Culver dominated their opponents by outscoring them 77 to 20 while South outscored their competition 53 to 25.
The Lady Centaurs will be led by senior Hayley Pina. She scored 40 this season with 16 goals and eight assists. Other team leaders are seniors Elli Benitez with five goals and 12 assists, and Karina Ramirez with five goals and 11 assists. Junior Jasmin Flores had 10 goals and eight assists. Freshman Amanda Jaramillo comes in with 10 goals and four assists.
Sydney Hibbs, Monica Patton, Isabel Deharo, Jacqelyn Espinosa, Lorreta Lupian, Viviana Yupanqui, Celeste Cerecedes, along with Kate Newman and Natalie Morton round out the roster..
Coach Scott Mair, in his eighth season, is assisted by Elizabeth Cveyich and Jennifer Servin.
Mr. Laase may be contacted at GMLaase@aol.com
