Lions stand alone




JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers SECOND TO NONE- The  Oaks  Christian  girls'  soccer  team celebrates Saturday's 31 victory over Downey High in the CIFSS Division V title match. After claiming co-championships in four of the previous five seasons, this was the Lions' first outright title.

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers SECOND TO NONE- The Oaks Christian girls’ soccer team celebrates Saturday’s 31 victory over Downey High in the CIFSS Division V title match. After claiming co-championships in four of the previous five seasons, this was the Lions’ first outright title.


Kelsea Smith will always remember her 18th birthday.

Smith, one of six seniors on the Oaks Christian girls’ soccer team, celebrated adulthood in style last Saturday evening at the CIF-Southern Section Division V title match at Warren High, where the Lions defeated Downey 3-1 to claim the CIF-SS crown.

The victory was the Oaks Christian girls’ fifth CIFSS Division V title in the past six years, but the team’s first-ever outright championship (OCHS was cochampion in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007).

“It definitely feels different to win without splitting,” said Smith, the proud owner of three CIF title rings in her high school soccer career. “We are the champions, and we don’t have to share this with any other team. That’s an amazing feeling.”

Oaks Christian, the division’s top seed entering the postseason, got out to an early lead in the 27th minute on a free-kick goal by sophomore Kelly Johnson. Smith was fouled just outside the penalty box on the play that set up Johnson’s score.

“I was just trying to bend it over the wall,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t necessarily looking to score, but the ball just kind of bent in and dropped right over the top of the keeper.”

Despite having several quality opportunities to pad their lead, the Lions entered halftime with a 1-0 advantage.

In the second half, however, OCHS quickly put the match out of reach.

Senior forward Melissa Dahl, a three-year varsity player, knocked in a header in the 45th minute to push the Lions’ advantage to 2-0.

On the play, junior midfielder Megan Schoppe lofted a corner kick toward the Downey (18-5-3) goal. The ball was deflected in the air by senior defender Kristen Clark and ended up in the vicinity of Dahl, who quickly finished the job.

“We’ve been practicing that play all year,” Dahl said.

“Kristen Clark usually heads it in- she has a lot of header goals for us- but when she got to it I could tell it was a little off. I just went to the ball a fast as I could to try and score.”

In the 60th minute, Johnson struck again for a 30 Oaks Christian advantage. Clark delivered a pinpoint pass on the wide-open scoring conversion.

“There was a girl on my back, so I turned her and she touched the ball,” Johnson said. “I thought the keeper was going to come out and challenge me, but she just stayed on her line, and I just kind of shot it at the side of the net.”

The large lead and an airtight defense allowed Oaks Christian head coach Jan Hethcock to substitute many of his players into the lineup during the later stages of the match.

“I kept subbing two or three players every seven minutes just to keep their legs fresh,” Hethcock said. “They played very, very well today as a team.”

With 2.8 seconds remaining in the contest, Downey’s Brittany Vance converted a free kick to make the final score 3-1. By that time, however, the celebration had already begun for the Lions, their coaches and the fans in the stands.

“I told them after the game, I said, ‘Seniors, you will never forget this day,’ especially (Smith) because she’s been with me since she was a freshman,” Hethcock said.

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