Heartbreaker for OPHS

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers CHASING IT DOWN—Oak Park High's Kathryn Klamecki, left, outraces several La Canada defenders while attempting to track down a loose ball during Tuesday's postseason match at OPHS. The Oak Park High girls' soccer team did everything but finish in its CIF-Southern Section Division V second-round playoff game against La Canada at home on Tuesday.

Although the Eagles (11-8-5) completely dominated the match by out-shooting La Canada 28-2, they couldn't convert any scoring attempts and lost, 1-0.

The only goal of the contest came with four minutes remaining in regulation by La Canada freshman Morgan Rittichier.

After the match, La Canada head coach Louis Bilowitz spoke briefly with Oak Park head coach Mark Zeolla.

Bilowitz "told me that we were the best team they had played all year, and that the best team on the field that day didn't win," Zeolla said.

"Some of our opportunities seemed to be handed to us on a silver platter, but we just couldn't finish. We seemed to have a force field around our goal. Soccer can be a funny sport sometimes, and luck was just on La Canada's side today."

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers TOUGH WAY TO GO OUT—Eagle players look on as their season ends in the second round. The Eagles had their chances in the first half, when they held the ball in their zone for approximately 38 minutes and out-shot the Spartans 16-0.

With two minutes remaining in the first half, OPHS sophomore Kaycee Holcomb's shot sailed too high over the net. A minute later, senior midfielder Kathryn Klamecki's shot hit the woodwork, while junior midfielder Ciara Zeolla's shot off the rebound also sailed too high.

"We just kept getting unlucky," senior Lauren Kawamoto said. "We had a lot of energy and opportunities, but we could never put (La Canada) away."

At intermission, it never entered the coach's mind that his squad might lose.

"I was ecstatic about the first half," Coach Zeolla said. "We were playing so great that I just knew we were going to win. I felt if we could just score that initial goal, we'd be all right.

"It did get frustrating at times. I mean, we had 11 corner kicks but didn't score on any of them. At one point, I heard a parent yell from the stands, 'Just put it in already!'"

La Canada finally showed life on offense when Rittichier's shot sailed past OPHS goalkeeper Alison James in the 76th minute.

"It was an amazing shot for me," Rittichier said. "I came down the field and just kind of kicked an airball toward the corner of the net. I was really lucky it went in."

After the game, Coach Zeolla reflected on Oak Park's season.

"We lost on the scoreboard, but that was it," the coach said. "The girls all played with a lot of heart, and they were definitely playing their best soccer of the season.

"We had eight seniors on this team, five of them starters, so this was our best chance to go far in the postseason," he said. "I've known a lot of the seniors since they were 5 years old, so saying goodbye is hard. Next year we will probably be rebuilding a little, but I'm already looking forward to it."

Kawamoto, who's headed to Santa Clara in the fall, said she'll miss her days playing for Oak Park.

"I'm really going to miss the high school atmosphere," Kawamoto said. "I'm going to miss all the girls, the fun practices we had, the team dinners and the games. It was all great."

Oaks Christian advances

Vying for the program's sixth girls' soccer section title in the past seven seasons, the Oaks Christian Lions defeated Torrance 4-0 on the road Tuesday in a Division V second-round matchup.

OCHS (21-1), champions of the Tri-Valley League, will host Marymount (10-4-3) in Thursday's quarterfinals. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m.