CIF: Girls Varsity Soccer vs. Bishop Montgomery

By SOHANA SAHNI Sports Editor

For the first round of CIF, the Arcadia High School (AHS) Girls Varsity Soccer team faced up against Bishop Montgomery High School (BMHS) on Feb. 8 for a thrilling and nail-biting match-up, going 1-1 and AHS winning in penalty kicks.

As the game began, both teams proved to be equally skilled, constantly kept at bay by each other’s defense. Within the first 10 minutes of the game, Bishop Montgomery star player, #13, broke the Arcadia defensive line by herself and scored a goal.

ceeded in scoring a point, pushing them ahead of BHS at 8-7. At that point, BHS advanced, playing more aggressively in an attempt to gain an advantage on AHS. But the Apaches were determined, and the field players aided the goalie Ji in protecting the goal by blocking any attempts to shoot the ball into the goal.

At around 7:30 p.m. in the third quarter, BHS was awarded three free throws, all of which were blocked by AHS goalie Ji in an amazing play of defense and athleticism. BHS scrambled to score more points before the end of the third quarter, scoring once while AHS scored twice and ended the third quarter at 11-9.

During the fourth and final quarter, goalie Ji blocked a shot, which rebounded back to a BHS player who shot again. Incredibly, fueled by adrenaline and lightning-fast reflexes, Ji blocked the ball for a second time, sending it out of the BHS players’ reach. With 37 seconds left on the clock, the teams met for a timeout to discuss their final strategy. Arcadia played the last stretch of the game by keeping the ball away from the BHS players, dribbling and passing the ball back and forth to each other to prevent Burroughs from scoring. At 7:45 p.m., AHS won the Pacific League Finals with a final score of 11-9.

“This is a season where we grew immensely,” said Coach Janice Clark, head coach of the Girls Varsity Water Polo team. “At the beginning of the season, we had seven returning players to varsity and the rest of the players were brand new. Most of [the new] players had only played for one year, and the growth over this season has probably been one of the best parts about this team…[the win-loss record] for this season is 19-9 overall, and in league, [the winloss record] is 8-1.” mho@arcadiaquill.com

Congratulations to the Girls Varsity Water Polo team for a well-played match and a wonderful end to their 2022-2023 season! The thrilling match with Burroughs was an exciting conclusion to the season, and their determination and perseverance that led them to win the finals displayed the talent and hard work that the girls put in. With a well-coordinated and synergistic team, the crowds will definitely be looking forward to watching them play again next year!

As the half continued, the Arcadia offense kept the ball on the BMHS side of the field, yet as opportunities to score continued to arise, they were unable to finish them. Stuck in the frustration of not scoring, the Girls Varsity Soccer team took half-time to regroup, strategize, and prepare to win the game.

Following a tense first half, Coach Paul Miles grouped the team for an emotional, motivational speech, rousing them to get ready to storm into the second half with a fervor. After Miles concluded his speech, two of the four team captains, senior Destiny Delgado and junior Skye Escobedo discussed strategy and reinvigorated their team with encouragement. This motivation propelled the Girls Varsity Soccer team into the second half, and they continued the game with a vigorous and competitive edge to their play.

The second half began, and Arcadia’s offensive began their aggressive and skillful penetration of the Bishop Montgomery defense. AHS moved up their defensive line, consisting of junior Paige Monson, freshman Bella Kellerman, Delgado, and sophomore Malia Leba, and kept the ball on the other side of the field for a majority of the half. In the midst of their struggle to score, the referee continued to make many controversial calls on Arcadia’s defense just outside of the 18’s. These calls were dangerous, as they gave BMHS free kicks in the ideal spot to score, and this happened twice within a span of 40 minutes.

After making numerous attempts to score, #22 freshman Maddie Massie scored a corner kick in the last 6 minutes of the second half to tie up the game. Caught in a tie, the team went into overtime in order to decide the match winner. Both teams were in search of their golden goal, a term used to describe their situation: as whoever scored first would win. ssahni@arcadiaquill.com

As the first overtime concluded, the second began, and still there were no goals from either side. Despite multiple good opportunities and a couple shots from the Arcadia offense, the team remained unlucky and couldn’t get any of them in.

Both teams were unable to score, and the match went into penalty kicks. During penalty kicks, both teams choose five of their most skilled players, and the teams switch off every other one, continuing to shoot penalties until one gets four goals to win.

The first penalty kick of the game went to Delgado, and the talented senior scored a goal in the corner of the box with ease. Following Delgado, #13 on Bishop Montgomery, their most talented player, missed her penalty shot too wide.

Next up was Kaya Chung, another practiced senior, and though her shot was wellplaced and forceful, the fast BMHS goalkeeper managed to block the shot. Following this shot, #10 from Bishop Montgomery, the second best player on the team, barely missed her shot, hitting the post on the side.

The third penalty went to Skye Escobedo, a junior and valuable asset to the team, who scored a stellar goal by shooting to the corner with speed and accuracy. Following Escobedo’s goal, Bishop Montgomery scored another goal as well, keeping up with Arcadia’s pace.

The fourth penalty went to Kellerman, and though it is her first year on the team, the newcomer scored an excellent penalty with ease. Following close behind, BMHS took another penalty goal.

For the final fifth penalty, stakes were high, and the goal decided the fate of the game. Freshman Zayne Bannoura was entrusted with the kick, and with a beautiful shot to the top corner, AHS won the game, advancing to Round 2.

Good luck to our Girls Varsity Soccer team in their future in CIF, and go support them in their Round 2 game this Friday at Don Lugo High School in Chino Hills!

By KAITLYNN TRINH