Source: OC Register
JSerra girls soccer beats Villa Park in penalty shots to capture Best in the West tournament Dan Albano %%item_date%% %%item_source%%
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JSerra’s storied girls soccer program on Saturday regained its standing as a major tournament winner.
Freshmen Peyton Marinos and Maya Woolforde and sophomore Mackenzie Herzing scored in penalty kicks and sophomore goalie Daphne Nakfoor made a save as the Lions defeated Villa Park 3-0 in the shootouts to capture the Best in the West tournament at Newport Harbor High.
The match moved to penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation.
It was JSerra’s first major title under second-year coach Anjel Brown, who replaced Greg Baker, the coach who guided the school to three consecutive CIF-SS Division 1 titles 2017-19 and two SoCal regional championships.
JSerra edged Los Alamitos 2-1 in the semifinals earlier Saturday behind two goals by Marinos.
Earlier in the tournament, the Lions beat Harvard-Westlake 2-1 and Long Beach Poly 1-0.
“Every game this tournament felt like a big win,” Brown said. “Amazing opponents all of them, which is what makes those wins so much more rewarding to JSerra. Massive team effort.”
Villa Park upset top-ranked Oaks Christian 2-1 in the other semifinal Saturday on goals by Riley Lewis and Rylie Whittaker. Oaks Christian is ranked No. 1 in CIF-SS Division 1.
Huntington Beach defeated Edison 3-0 in the finals of the tournament’s second division.
Please send girls soccer news to Dan Albano at [email protected] or @ocvarsityguy on Twitter