Oak Park ends Tri-Valley League season undefeated, untied (9-0) in girls’ soccer

The Oak Park girls’ soccer team coached by Ted Eggleston finished its Tri-Valley League season undefeated at 9-0 and improved to 16-1-2 overall on the season after a 4-0 win over La Reina in a game played at La Reina’s new home, Cal Lutheran University, last Friday afternoon.

Courtney Crane had two goals and two assists and now has 24 goals to lead the Eagles, and Nicole Purkey also scored twice vs. the Regents, while Allison Bernstein and Ashley McClure had assists. Goalkeeper Krista Clinton recorded her 15th shutout—a school record—in the win over La Reina.

"It feels good, but now I’m just thinking of playoffs," Eggleston said about making it through league unbeaten. "You don’t have too much time to reflect."

Eggleston is concerned because Bernstein hurt her ankle vs. La Reina. "I took a big chance leaving her in the game," he said, noting the score was 2-0 when she got hurt.

Prior to the game, the Oak Park coach talked about Bernstein. "…She’s been our center mid for all four years, sometimes playing some forward, sometimes playing left mid. But primarily our center mid—captain two years, second team All-CIF last year as a junior—going to Pepperdine to play soccer."

Bernstein is second on the team with 15 goals.

"She (Bernstein) does such a good job on defense," Eggleston said. "She does such a good job of feeding the forwards and still scoring herself. She’s a real solid player for us and we’re going to miss her a lot. She’s a student of the game."

Bernstein is one of six seniors on the Oak Park roster. The Eagles coach talked about a few of them, including Ashley McClure, who plays stopper. "She’s been great for us," Eggleston said. Jennie Santoro, who usually comes in off the bench at midfield, "has been real solid." And Purkey "is a first-time player for us, as a senior, and she’s starting at forward."

Eggleston said he’ll have a good core group coming back next year, though he added, "But we’re going to miss our seniors, big time. I don’t know if you can replace a Krista Clinton and a Courtney Crane and an Allison Bernstein."

The Oak Park roster is comprised of three juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen (to go along with the six seniors). Two of the sophomores are injured. Samantha Stoll tore an ACL before the season in a club game. "That was a big loss for us," said Eggleston.

"And then we lost, with a dislocated elbow, Roxana Sadeghi, who plays left fullback." The coach hopes Sadeghi will return, later in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Megan Rauch has filled in well at fullback.

Amy Nevers, a freshman, hurt her knee about two weeks ago, though it’s not serious and she’ll hopefully be back sometime in the playoffs as well.

"We feel real sad about the three players that aren’t able to play right now because they were major players," Eggleston said, noting that Nevers scored three goals in a game right before being injured. All three are underclassmen, so they’ll be back next year.

"I feel good about the team," Eggleston said. "The camaraderie on this team is just wonderful. This year and last year’s team were both such a tight group. They, literally—without being too corny—love each other.

"It’s a neat situation," he added. "It’s a great school. They like going to this school. They like their team. They love their teammates—and with girls, it’s so important, they have to love their teammates. ‘That makes a good team because they play for each other."

The Eagle players have really enjoyed the season and are looking forward to the playoffs.

"It’s been an incredible season," Bernstein said. "I’ve had so much fun. And we’re doing so well. I can’t wait for playoffs. I’m so excited. I think we have a good chance."

Bernstein added, "It all starts from our goalie to our defense to our forwards. We all work together."

Whitney Steininger, a sophomore sweeper said, "Our team, from the very beginning, bonded really well, and we’re all really close. We play for each other and work hard for each other … we’re always there to back each other up."

And Laura Pittman, a fullback, said, "We all love each other. We support each other and just try to help each other out. The captains, the seniors, have really stepped up and they’re really leading us and we’re having a great season. We’re playing really well. We’re having a great time."