Westlake Warriors stay unbeaten in girls’ soccer

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn GOING FOR IT--Meaghan Flaherty, left, of Hart and Nicole Remenga of Westlake chase the ball as they run downfield during Friday's soccer playoff game. Westlake improved to 17-0-1.

The Westlake girls’ soccer team improved to 17-0-1 when it defeated Hart, 5-1, in a first-round California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Division II playoff game played at Westlake High School last Friday afternoon.

The Warriors scored four first-half goals, the first coming two minutes into the game when Ashley Jones, a junior, put Westlake on top to stay.

"We wanted to make sure that we got off to a good start, got a couple of goals to set the tone," said Westlake coach Frank Marino. "Once we started playing, the floodgates really opened. We were able to get three or four which kind of put the game away."

Marino is in his third year as Warriors’ coach. The team lost in the second round of the playoffs two years ago, and last year it was defeated in the quarterfinals.

"It’s the playoffs now and any game is a tough game," said Marino, whose team beat Buena, 3-1, on Tuesday in the second round. The Warriors went into that contest having scored 81 goals on the season and having given up only six.

What has made Westlake impossible to beat so far this season?

"Our ability to score and also we’ve done a great job defending," Marino said, describing what has been a balanced Warrior attack this season. "You get through 18 games and give up six goals, you’re going to have a chance to win every game."

Aubry Medal and Kathy Salmon, both seniors, have anchored the defense, said the coach.

It’s been Westlake’s goal all season to surpass last year’s quarterfinal playoff showing.

"We’re taking it one step at a time, one game at a time," Marino said. "We feel we have the talent to do very well this year. If we keep working hard, we’re going to have opportunities."

Nicole Remenga, a junior, scored the second goal vs. Hart.

"I felt that our whole team played extremely well," Remenga said after the win. "We were really pumped up for it and we just came out and finished our chances. We really want to get past what we did last year. We played really well last year and we just came up short. This year, we feel we can make it farther and do better."

Katie Heyl, a senior, was credited with the third goal vs. Hart, with Kelly Cochran, a senior, scoring goal No. 4 and Remenga tallying her second goal of the game for the team’s fifth goal.

"We have a lot of seniors this year and they’re all very good," Remenga said. "They know what they’re doing and they’re good leaders."

The underclassmen have also contributed, said Remenga.

"It’s a really good mix. We all get along really well together and I think that helps a lot on the field," Remenga said.

Marino agreed.

"The chemistry is unbelievable," he said. "In my three years here, this is the easiest year as far as chemistry goes. They get along, they do things together, they like each other, they play hard together and they enjoy being around each other.

"That makes a huge difference," Marino added. "It’s made the season go smoothly. It’s important to all the girls that we do well as a team."

Said Jones, "We’re definitely good friends and we get along and work well together."

Carrie Murphy, one of the senior leaders, concurred.

"It’s very important that we do well in the playoffs because this is a year we have a really good chance of winning," Murphy said. "We’ve worked so hard and we have a lot of experience playing club soccer."

About scoring so early in the first playoff game, Murphy said it served to boost the Warriors’ morale. "It was nice to get the first game under our belts and scoring in the first couple of minutes gave us more confidence," she said.

The Warriors played at home in Westlake but faced Buena at Moorpark Collge because Westlake’ field was muddy and chewed up from football.

"That would only help us because we have a lot of girls with a lot of skill," said Jones.

"It would help our passing and our game would be so much prettier. And we’d play better on the better field."