Girls soccer playoffs: Oaks Christian upsets state No. 1 Santiago to advance to semifinals

As the bench awaited the final whistle, the coaches were already debating whether they had just seen the best win in the history of the Oaks Christian girls soccer program.

The Lions’ 4-2 win over Corona-Santiago on Tuesday night at Thorson Stadium may not have come attached to a trophy — at least not yet — but it does carry with it some serious weight.

Avery Oder, Berkley Mape, Sarah Spears and Kailey Supa scored goals as Oaks Christian upset the top seed in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals.

“It ranks pretty high in school history,” head coach Sebastian Alvardo said. “To beat not only a No. 1 seed, but a team that has a pedigree, says something about our team.”

Santiago (20-2-1) is ranked No. 1 in the state and region and No. 4 in the country in the most recent United Soccer Coaches national poll. Last month, it was the No. 1-ranked team in the country.

The teams had previously met in the 2015 Division 2 final (won by Santiago, 2-0) and the 2016 Division 2 second round (won by Oaks Christian, 3-2).

“Our girls came out and played awesome,” Alvardo said. “Berkley showed her leadership skills, and not only with her goal. She goes both ways, offensive and defensively. That’s why I think she’s one of the better players in the county, if not the best player. I wouldn’t trade her for anyone.”

Six days after the eight-time section champion Lions advanced in the Division 1 playoffs for the first time, they grabbed their first Division 1 playoff win in regulation.

Oder gave Oaks Christian the lead in the 17th minute, hammering home from close range on the near post after Santiago was unable to handle a corner kick.

Oaks Christian goalie Azairia Chacon made a pair of important saves before Mape doubled the Lions lead in first-half stoppage time.

The Ohio State commit rose over traffic to head home Isa Wieder’s long free kick from 10 yards just before the halftime whistle.

“I saw Isa’s ball and noticed that no one was really on me,” Mape said. “I saw it in the air and just kind of tracked it and finished it, luckily.”

Oaks Christian nearly made it 3-0 in the 50th minute, but Oder’s free kick from the left was cleared off the goal line.

The two-goal lead would have been safe against lesser opposition. Oaks Christian entered play having only allowed a single goal in 11 matches since the New Year, a stretch of 15 hours of soccer.

But Santiago mounted a comeback, pulling within 2-1 on Emma Eaton’s drive into the upper left corner in the 53rd minute.

“It made the game interesting,” Alvarado said. “But I thought we showed character. After it was 2-1, we could have lost some composure.”

Spears had Oaks Christian’s answer, stealing a Santiago throw-in, going on a run down the right side and firing in a near-post shot from 15 yards.

Lexi Coughlin, Santiago’s U.S. youth international, made it 3-2 in the 65th minute by winning a battle for a rebound in the Oaks Christian penalty area, after teammate Julia Becerra hit the crossbar from 50 yards on a free kick.

Santiago pushed for a late equalizer, but Supa put the game away, dipping in a low shot in second-half stoppage time being played in by Oder.

“That was a big relief,” Supa said. “It felt really good.”

Oaks Christian (19-2-1) will visit Los Alamitos (17-6-5) in Friday’s semifinals. The Sunset Surf League champion handed the Lions one of their two losses, 1-0, in the Best of the West tournament on Dec. 17.

There is already a whiff of controversy about the game. The venue for the match switched on the CIF-SS website over the weekend. Oaks Christian was originally posted as the winner of the coin flip to host the match, but that had changed by Tuesday.

“We won the toss on Friday to play home,” Alvarado said. “They re-tossed later and we lost and now travel. … CIF claims they had to do all divisions at the same time, so they did a re-flip.”

DIVISION 2

Westlake 7, San Dimas 1: Emma Naftzger scored two goals and Ava Castle had a goal and an assist as the Warriors put a slow start in the rearview mirror by scoring seven unanswered goals to advance to their first sectional semifinal in eight years.

Westlake took a 3-1 halftime lead as Castle, Naftzger and Grace Wetzel answered the San Dimas' opening goal.

“They hit a ball behind us, got in, had a good cross and a good finish and we were down,” Westlake coach Frank Marino said.

But the Warriors (15-2-3) gradually took control.

“We found a rhythm in the last 10 minutes of the first half and I just challenged them at halftime,” Marino said. “We rolled from there.”

Naftzger added a second goal and Finley Aghassi, Ava Bowers, and Alyssa Rice also found the net as Westlake poured it on. Tahirih Vahdat, KK Chowana and Vivian Burrows had assists.

Westlake will host familiar foe Hart in Friday’s semifinals.

Hart eliminated Westlake, 1-0, in last year’s quarterfinals. The teams tied 2-2 in this season’s opener in November.

DIVISION 3

Moorpark 1, Placentia-El Dorado 0: Junior Gianna Foss converted from a through ball from sophomore Zaina Barakat late in the first half as the Musketeers reached the semifinals for the first time since winning section and regional championships in 2017.

“Gianna was working defensively and won a ball, got forward in transition and Ziana slipped Gianna in and she put it away,” Moorpark coach Mike Alexander said.

Third-seeded Moorpark (15-4) will host second-seeded Irvine-Portola (16-2-2) in Friday’s semifinals.

Defenders Mirabella Bickham, Rebecca Hernandez, Kaitlyn Beaver, Lizzeth Meza and Ella Navarete and goalie Emma Ott combined for Moorpark’s first shutout in five games.

“We did a good job defensively,” Alexander said. “They stayed organized. They were disciplined.”

Athletic freshman Linnea Peltonen impacted the game up front.

“She was winning balls and taking players on, knowing when to slow the game down,” Alexander said. "Her energy affected everyone else.”

Joe Curley covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Girls soccer: Oaks Christian upsets top-seeded Santiago to reach semis