Westlake girls unbeaten in league race

Acorn Sports Writer


MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn  TOUGH TO THE END-Westlake's Karyn Loftus and T.O.'s Alison Bodner battle for the ball during Saturday's game at Westlake.

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn TOUGH TO THE END-Westlake’s Karyn Loftus and T.O.’s Alison Bodner battle for the ball during Saturday’s game at Westlake.

The Westlake girls’ soccer team defeated Thousand Oaks, 2-0, in a game played Saturday during "Super Soccer Saturday," which took place all day on the Westlake football/soccer fields.


Ashley Jones, a sophomore, converted both of the Warriors’ goals and Westlake improved to 8-0-1 in league play and 13-3-2 overall, heading into the final week of Marmonte League regular season games.


The Lancer loss dropped T.O. to 3-5-3 in league and 5-11-3 overall.


"I got pretty lucky on both those goals," Jones said modestly after the win. "The ball was just like right there."


Lauren Baer and Karyn Loftus are the only seniors on the Westlake roster this year.


Baer described the win over T.O. "I thought it was a pretty even game," she said. "We definitely had more chances, but they had their share, too. I think we came really wanting to beat them."


Westlake coach Frank Marino was pleased with his team’s work and glad that so many people came as spectators.


"I thought our effort was great tonight," Marino said. "We came out with a lot of adrenaline. It was a great night, a lot of fans in the stadium. It was just a great atmosphere here tonight. I think it was a great opportunity to showcase what we can do."


T.O. head coach Gail Kanney was also pleased with her team’s effort, despite the outcome.


"I think the kids gave as much as they could give and we gave them a good game," said Kanney. "I don’t think the score is really indicative of how my kids played."


Kanney also praised her opponent. "They’ve got a couple of really quick girls up front," she said. "And they’re very good in the air. And they’re well coached. They do a nice job."


The Lancer coach said several players stepped up for their team in the two-goal loss.


"Karen Zieger and the whole defense, Alysha Zgrabek and Tasha Van Dixhorn, in midfield, they all played a good game," said Kanney.


Meanwhile, Marino was happy to earn another league win and get one game closer to the postseason, but said there was still room for improvement.


"We didn’t play our best game, but we certainly did enough to win the game today and that’s what counts," Marino said. "We need to play better and next week has got to be a tuneup to get ready for the playoffs."


Marino added, "We’ve got to get a rhythm and start playing together and play a little bit faster, and do a better job of connecting and knocking the ball around."


The Warrior coach praised Jones for her work against the Lancers. Jones scored after taking passes from Loftus and a throw in from Katie Heyl, a junior.


"She just buried both of them," Marino said of Jones’ capacity to score. "She’s been clutch. She finds a way to score and comes up big."


Marino noted that the Warriors had given up just one goal in nine league games after the T.O. shutout.


He credited Aubry Medal, a junior stopper, Kathy Salmon, a junior sweeper, and defenders Heyl, Whitney Baker and Melinda Lowry, both sophomores, and Lauren Shanklin, a freshman, for their work defensively.


"All those girls have done a great job back there," Marino said. "We’ve had some injuries, but people have stepped in and we’ve been rock solid. We don’t give up goals, and if we continue to do that well, we’ll have a chance to win every game."


The Warrior players are looking forward to the playoffs, preparing themselves for a postseason run.


"Especially since it’s my last year," said Baer, "we want to go to CIF undefeated and ready."


About remaining undefeated in league action, Jones said, "It’s really important. No one wants to lose. We want to have the pride of winning.


"We’re starting to play more as a team than we were at the beginning of the season," Jones added. "So that should help us a lot. Last year we lost in the second round and just didn’t play well. So, it’s really important to us this year. We want to show what we have."




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