Los Alamitos High’s girls soccer team got off to a strong start in the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs, rolling to a 5-0 win in the first round and then taking care of Corona del Mar, 6-1, on Friday to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Griffins scored five goals in about a 14 minute span to take a 5-0 lead over Corona del Mar by halftime. Senior Viviana Zacarias scored two goals, including the eventual game-winner. Sofia Bugarin, Baylee Fernley and Charlotte Burke each had a goal in the first half. Freshman Demiana Ibrahim had the final goal in the second half.
The Griffins got on the board first when Bugarin combined with Jaelyn Guidry on a give-and-go pass that got Bugarin free in the middle of the field. She had to make a move to her right to get around a charging defender, but she gained enough space to fire a shot from the top of the goal box. The shot sailed just over the goal keeper’s hand to find the top of the goal.
About three minutes later, Zacarias found room at about the same area as Bugarin, but this time she went to the right side and put a shot just inside the goal post. The Griffins maintained control for most of the first half.
“I think we just really capitalized on what we’ve been practicing, on what we’ve been analyzing tactically, technically, and we figured it out, and we got the goals in,” Viviana said.
The Griffins entered the playoffs as the first-place team out of the Sunset League, with a 7-0 record. They were the No. 6 team in the final Open Division rankings, but were slotted in the Division 1 bracket.
On Tuesday, the Griffins were eliminated from the playoffs by Troy High, which won the game on a penalty kick tiebreaker, after regulation and overtime ended with a 0-0 tie.
