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Los Alamitos girls soccer wins key Sunset League match against Huntington Beach

January 17, 2025

HUNTINGTON BEACH — The Los Alamitos girls soccer team came from one goal down to defeat Huntington Beach, 2-1, in a key Sunset League match Thursday at Huntington Beach High School.

The Griffins (9-5-3, 3-0), who are ranked No. 7 in Orange County, and the No. 6 Oilers (9-3-3, 1-1) are expected to contend along with Edison for the top three spots in a league race that might not be decided until the final day of the regular season.

Los Alamitos’ Avarie Gonzalez (1) denies Huntington Beach’s Hannah Studebaker (18) a goal during a girls Sunset League soccer game between Los Alamitos High and Huntington Beach High at Huntington Beach High School on Thursday Jan. 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)

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Los Alamitos is alone in first place after the victory and Edison and Huntington Beach are tied for second.

Huntington Beach scored the first goal 20 minutes into the contest, when Los Alamitos goalkeeper Averie Gonzalez hit the ground after a hard collision with an Oilers player.

As Gonzalez was lying face down, the Oilers’ Alexis Katter was able to kick the ball into an open net.

With six minutes remaining in the half, the Griffins’ Cami Ainslie, who was dribbling down the left sideline, curved toward the goal and took a hard shot that the Oilers’ keeper managed to deflect away.

But Griffins freshman Jaylen Guidry was in the perfect spot to control the rebound and score the tying goal.

“I just knew I had to stay calm, make sure we get this goal in because I knew the momentum would change completely once we got that goal,” Guidry said.

After being on their heels defensively for much of the first half, the Griffins adjusted in the second by converging on the player with the ball and focusing most of their effort on containing Sienna McAthy, the Oilers’ leading goal scorer, and Olivia Young, who has four goals and three assists.

“Normally, once they go up ahead of you, they kind of lock things in,” Los Alamitos coach Pat Rossi said. “So that first goal was key because then we went to the half tied 1-1.”

Nine minutes into the second, the Griffins took the lead for good when Victoria Bloch took a short pass from Vivi Zacarias, positioned herself about 25 yards from the goal, stopped and kicked a line drive over the keeper’s head and into the net.

“I was kind of aiming for back post,” Bloch said. “I wanted to make sure that I actually got a good hit on it and was able to nail it and not hit it over (the net).”

Oilers coach Raul Ruiz was pleased with the way his team competed, but said it failed to capitalize on some opportunities.

“Sometimes like I tell the girls when we don’t take advantage of our opportunities, they come back to haunt us,” Ruiz said. “I think that was a case today.”

Prior to the game, the Oilers held a ceremony in honor of fallen teammate Kelly Reid, who was killed along with her father when the Vans RV-10 aircraft they were aboard crashed into a manufacturing building short of the runway at the Fullerton Municipal Airport on Jan.2.

Nineteen employees in the building were injured in the crash.

The Oilers boys and girls soccer teams walked slowly onto the pitch in two straight lines, each holding a white flower and formed a circle at midfield.

Most players wore a long-sleave white T shirts inscribed on the front with the phrase, “#6 Forever.”

On the back of the shirt were the words “Live – Like – Kelly” inscribed in bold capital letters with a Bible verse underneath.

The players also had Reid’s “No. 6” written on their thighs.

“The main thing for us was to have a ceremony in honor of our dear true friend, teammate, Kelly and her father,” Ruiz said. “But I think that itself is so emotional that over the last week and a half we’ve been draining, holding it in the inside.”

“We did what we could under the circumstances and there’s no excuses (for the loss). We just have to make sure that next time we face them we’ll be in a better state of mind.”

Los Alamitos girls soccer wins key Sunset League match against Huntington Beach Orange County Register

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Los Alamitos girls soccer wins key Sunset League match against Huntington Beach

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