The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
The562’s coverage of high school soccer is sponsored by Long Beach FC.
Sometimes an entire season’s goal of reaching a championship game, and the 80 minutes of a final, are judged by only a few moments.
That was the case on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium where Long Beach Poly was on the wrong side of a 1-0 decision against Foothill in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 girls’ soccer championship game.
Poly’s best chance to score came in the third minute when Makayla Quesada’s shot was stopped with an impressive point-blank save. Then a minute before halftime, Foothill scored on Taylor Bryant’s header that deflected into goal. The Jackrabbits desperately pushed for an equalizing goal in a physical second half but fell short while being outshot 11-6 by the Knights.
“They left it all out on the field and that’s all we can ask for,” Poly coach Angel Zavala said of his Moore League champions. “We’re beyond proud of them and everybody in Long Beach is proud of them. And we’re not done yet.”
Poly already clinched its spot in the CIF State Regional playoffs that begin Tuesday.
This Jackrabbits squad and their season were defined by phenomenal defense and contagious team spirit. It’s no surprise that captain Aaya McLyn personified that on Saturday. The senior took a knock to her ankle in the first half and fought through the pain to lead the defensive midfield. She was the best Poly player in the second half while winning balls all over the field.
“I’m just very proud of these girls and the effort we put in throughout the season,” McLyn said. “I feel like everybody left everything on the field and that just shows how much we cared and how much we improved throughout the season. Of course this is not the outcome we wanted, but we left our hearts on the field and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
“We had multiple injuries on the field and they got up and they continued to fight,” Zavala added.
It felt like Foothill was in complete control from the opening whistle and enjoyed the lion’s share of possession until Poly was forced into frantic play going forward late.
“Credit to Long Beach, they played really well, and their coach did a good job of trying to disrupt us, but we wanted to stay to our style,” Foothill coach Steve Patterson said. “There was no flow to the second half but we knew that was going to happen and we withstood it and we already got the goal we needed so that was enough for us. (Poly) presented some problems, they played really direct and they had a press on us, but we just withstood it.”
Sophomore forward Kadence Bain was the bright spot for Poly in the first half as she ran the right flank. She started the pivotal play in the third minute by chasing a ball down and passing back to McLyn in midfield. McLyn sent a perfect ball through to Quesada’s feet and she was able to shield off multiple defenders before firing a would-be goal from the top of the 18-yard box. However, Foothill goalkeeper Jenna Sanchez bravely came off her line to make the point-blank save. Sanchez finished with five saves.
Foothill took over from that point and had the next nine shots of the game before Sydney Santos narrowly missed heading home a goal off fantastic free kick service from Joanna Rodriguez in the 37th minute.
Two minutes later, Foothill winger Arllene Vite marauded the left flank and sent a great ball into the heart of the penalty area. Bryant’s header hit the hands of Poly goalkeeper Caitlyn Jung but had enough power to sneak just inches over the line for the game’s only goal.
Poly had plenty of chances to send long balls up to Bain and other speedy forwards in the second half, but they were not composed and all too heavy attempts that were left wanting.
“We got in our heads, for sure, we beat ourselves mentally,” Zavala said. “The mental part can get you and it got the best of us today.”
The Jackrabbits nearly equalized just after the hour mark when Quesada’s cross found the feet of Rodriguez on the far side of the box, but Sanchez was in perfect position at the post to make the save.
Poly had emotional team talk after the loss with eyes towards the CIF State opportunity to replace this hurt with more hardware.
“(I want the girls to) feel the pain and understand the pain and make sure we push through it and come out successful,” Zavala said. “They’re such a special group. It was tough putting the pieces together and the changes I had to put them through. I’m so proud and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”
