Sophomore defender Sydney Raguse played a ball into the box that was falling at the precise spot in which Crescenta Valley goalie Apolonia Martinez was forced to race up to it and risk it getting by her or wait for a bounce. The bounce never came, though, as a hustling O’Connor sprinted onto the scene and booted in the match’s lone goal.
“It was a great play,” Middleton said.
With the victory, Corona del Mar (14-8-4) moves on to the quarterfinals to play host to Redlands East Valley, which defeated Hart in penalty kicks. Last season concluded for the Sea Kings with a 1-0 loss to Redlands East Valley in the quarters.
Crescenta Valley (16-2-3) did its best to end CdM’s season a round earlier, taking over the majority of the match after O’Connor’s score.
“We dominated the first 20 minutes, but then it turned,” Middleton said.
Middleton did have a hand in turning it, though, as he, as aforementioned, was content to play a more defensive style with a 1-0 lead, even moving sophomore forward Allyson Brahs back on defense.
Still, the Falcons, champions of the Pacific League who had only allowed three previous goals all season long, fired 12 shots to CdM’s 10, with a 5-2 second-half discrepancy.
“By the second half, I thought we were taking over the game,” Falcons Coach Reggie Rivas said. “We just couldn’t score.”
A good deal of that came due to the effort of CdM goalie Sarah Cox, who had seven saves.
While it was an ending earlier than he would have obviously chosen, Rivas knew to expect a tight game against the Sea Kings.
“Don’t led third place mistake you, they’re very good,” Rivas said in reference to the Sea Kings’ third-place finish in the formidable Pacific Coast League. “We talked about coming out and starting fast. We didn’t and they did.”
