Westlake girls stay undefeated in soccer

HEATHER O'QUINN/The Acorn STANDOFF--Ashley Jones, No. 13 of Westlake, and Chelsey Stewart of Moorpark battle for the ball during a game at Westlake.

The Westlake girls’ soccer team, coached by Frank Marino, improved to 7-0 in Marmonte League play when it beat Moorpark in a 1-0 thriller at home at Westlake High School last Friday. The win gave Westlake (10-0-1 overall) a perfect record through the first-half of league games.

Though Moorpark ended its first half of league games at 2-5 (10-8-2 overall), Marino, now in his third year as Warriors’ head coach, gained a lot of respect for the Musketeers.

"This was the toughest one in the first half for sure," Marino said. "They did a great job of defending. They were well organized. They kept their shape defensively, which made it difficult for us to score."

The game’s only goal came when Megan Page, a senior, scored early in the second half.

"I’m going to give (Moorpark) credit," Marino said. "To be that patient—for 80 minutes of the game defensively—it’s very impressive."

Still, it was an important victory for Westlake, keeping Marino and his players’ hopes intact of finishing first in the Marmonte League and earning a high ranking for the eventual California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs.

"In the league, we want to get as many wins as we can," Marino said. "We want to win the league so that we have the best seed going into the playoffs. So for us, this was another big win."

The Warriors have only given up one goal in their first 11 games—and only allowed one goal in seven league games—heading into this week’s action when Westlake was to have faced Simi Valley on Wednesday and then host Thousand Oaks tomorrow at 5 p.m.

But Marino and his players said the Warriors can get even better.

"At this point we’re where we want to be as far as wins and losses," Marino said. "(But) as far as our level of play, we still have a long way to go. We still have stuff to work on before we’re where we need to be for the playoffs."

What needs improvement?

"We still need to get better on our long throw-ins and set pieces," Marino said. "(And) we’ve got to get better in being able to switch and hit diagonal balls when we need to. To kind of mix up our play so we’re not as predictable."

Ashley Jones, a junior, said the Warriors need to get tougher as the team gets healthier in the second half of the league schedule.

"I think we’re used to going into the game maybe not as ready and prepared as we should be," Jones said. "We need to start passing the ball around a little bit, play more possession—good soccer—to get ready for CIF.

"(We need to) get our heads into the game and play harder," Jones added.

Both the coach and players want to exceed last year’s quarter-final loss in the playoffs.

"The first year I was here, we got to the second round," Marino said.

"The second year I was here, we got to the quarterfinals. And the goal this year is at least the semifinals, and then, once we get there, you never know what can happen."

Jones thinks it’s very possible.

"We definitely have the team to go all the way, it’s just going to depend on if we want to do it enough," she said. Is the team motivated? "I think so," Jones said. "We have a lot of seniors. It’s their last year and this will be a good chance for us."

Westlake is led by seniors Page, Carrie Murphy, Kathy Salmon, Aubry Medal, Katie Heyl, Christina DeVries and Kelly Cochran. The juniors include Jones, Nicole Remenga and Melinda Lowry. And sophomore Lauren Shanklin and freshman Rebecca Olin are also key players.

"We have senior leadership," Marino said. "We have good chemistry. We play together and that obviously helps—the fact that everybody likes each other, everybody gets along."

After some injuries and illnesses, Jones said, "We’re starting to recover more and more, and towards the end of the season, we’ll start playing a lot better, getting ready for CIF."