Malibu AYSO Girls U16 team: best of the best
The Malibu AYSO Girls U16 soccer team won an historic AYSO section championship Sunday afternoon at the Lancaster National Soccer Center. The girls won the championship by defeating their Area E rival, Newberry Park, 1-0, in the tournament final. The victory capped a five-game tournament run during which the Malibu girls did not allow a single regulation goal to be scored against them. The section championship was the first ever for a Malibu girls’ soccer team.
The Malibu girls placed first in their bracket on Saturday by defeating the area champions from Saugus (3-0) and Santa Barbara (2-0). The Malibu girls scored a total of 22 seeding points under the tournament scoring rules, the highest of any team in the girls’ brackets, earning the number one seed the following day.
On Sunday morning, the Malibu girls played a tenacious Santa Paula team in the semi-final game. The teams fought to a 0-0 tie through regulation play and two, 5-minute overtime periods. The Malibu girls won the game in a shootout on goals by Danielle Horn, Rachell Rondell and Lena Bigelow. The win earned the girls the right to play in the final.
The championship game was a classic defensive battle played against the Newberry Park girls who were also undefeated in their bracket on Saturday. During the first half, Newberry Park took advantage of wind conditions to outshoot the Malibu girls. But strong defense and brilliant goalie play by Brianna Cowart held the Newberry Park girls scoreless throughout the half. Cowart made four spectacular goal saves during the first half by knocking shots over the top crossbar. The Malibu girls took a 1-0 lead into halftime when Eva Post scored the winning goal on a corner kick by Lena Bigelow.
In the second half, the wind advantage shifted to the Malibu girls who combined a strong offensive effort with a superb defense to keep the ball on the Malibu half of the field most of the second period. Newberry Park was not able to score giving the Malibu girls the win, 1-0.
Chris Nansel and Heather Williams coached the Malibu team.
Sharks on a ‘mud’ roll
Tackling fiends
The Malibu High JV Sharks tied Calvary Chapel, Murietta Springs 6-6 in Saturday’s home game in the rain. Running back Miles Edmund achieved the touchdown of the day. See page B11 for the Sports Calendar and more sports.