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Sports

Sea Kings Leading Group At Mater Dei Invitational

Palos Verdes High girls soccer team plays to a draw against Anaheim Esperanza, the top-ranked team in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1. The Sea Kings, led by Haley Rosen, have shot to win prestigious tournament.

With a little more fortune and a tweak of schedule, Palos Verdes High might have made a little history at Mater Dei's Premier Invitational girls soccer tournament. It might still.

The Sea Kings took command of their group in the showcase Friday, and that was without getting the result they deserved. The reward for an at-times stunning performance against two-time defending CIF-Southern Section Division 1 champion Anaheim Esperanza: a 1-1 draw.

And they were somewhat lucky to get that, holding on as an Esperanza shot in the final minutes caromed off their right post and across the goal line into goalkeeper Dana Connors' arms.

"I thought we played really well today," said Palos Verdes coach Sean Lockhart, whose team might have scored four or five against the top-ranked side in Division 1. "We possessed the ball when we needed to, we created a lot of opportunities, but the game of soccer, it's just a tough game. You can dominate a game, but that scoreboard, that's what matters."

The Sea Kings (9-1-2), who are ranked No. 2 (to Upland) in the Southern Section's Division 2 poll, managed just one goal, but what a goal it was: a brilliant first-time finish by Elizabeth Caparis from Madison Murray's one-touch cross, that coming from Brittany Shoemaker's feed as they quickly countered from their defensive third in the 51st minute of the 70-minute match.

They might have had two or three goals in the first half, when they had decent looks but not the right touch in the goalmouth, and should have netted the winner in the 68th minute when Carly Braham struck the crossbar and Kelly Kennedy was positioned to head home the rebound.

Kennedy was pushed from behind into the right post -- she was down for a few minutes before she was helped off the field -- and somehow no penalty kick was granted.

None of it took the glow off an often inspiring show led by All-CIF first-team central midfielder Haley Rosen, a U.S. youth national teams veteran who is headed to Stanford. Her ability to work out of tight space, find teammates in good positions and have a go at goal when opportunities arrived made P.V. the vastly superior side.

"She's just a great player," Lockhart said. "She makes the game look easy. Her ability, her work ethic, her tireless effort to be the best -- she's our catalyst out there. Everything kind of feeds off of her … and she knows how to make players around her better."

The Sea Kings, who were reassigned from Division 1 to Division 2 this season, look like genuine title contender. Rosen leads a talented, senior-heavy team -- more than a dozen players are Premier-level club players -- that has experience in big games.

It showed in their 2-0 destruction of Los Alamitos, the fourth-ranked team in Division 1, in Thursday's tournament opener. Lockhart said his team was better then than on Friday and should have led to a victory over Esperanza.

Had Palos Verdes opened with the Aztecs (3-1-4), it might have ended their 46-game unbeaten streak. It was Aliso Niguel who ended that run, beating Esperanza 4-1 on the first day of the tournament.

Esperanza went ahead 10 minutes into the second half, with Paulina Good's glancing header from Rylee Baisden's 40-yard free kick spilling in off the right post. A.B. Ogiamien nearly gave the Aztecs the late win, but the bounce off the same post didn't go her way.

Caparis, attacking primarily from the left flank, was outstanding, and Connors' command of her area was exceptional. P.V. also benefited from a solid backline that's missing All-CIF third-teamer Haley Nakata, who is out another week or two, Lockhart said, with a sprained ankle.

The Sea Kings hold a five-point lead on Aliso Niguel (6-2-0) in Group C -- teams are rewarded points for goals and shutouts in addition to victories and ties -- but with Los Alamitos looming another point back, they likely must win a showdown against the Wolverines on Saturday to reach the semifinals later in the afternoon.

Aliso Niguel knows well what Rosen can do. The Wolverines' coach, Randy Dodge, is Rosen's coach with club powerhouse So Cal Blues' under-18 team.

Two more wins, and Palos Verdes will be 70 minutes from their first title in the prestigious tournament. There are bigger trophies ahead.

"There's a lot of experience [here]," Lockhart said. "They've been to the playoffs every year. We've had some heartbreak, we've had some success, but I really think this year is the year, if the cards fall in the right place, I really think we can do a lot of stuff. I think we can go a little deeper in the playoffs, and I think the girls deserve it."

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