As the regular season winds down, Point Loma High’s girls soccer team appears to have both a league championship and a deep run in Div. II CIF playoffs in its future.
Featuring a roster loaded with underclass players (four freshmen and nine sophomores), the Lady Pointers have compiled a record of 11-2-3 with a perfect 3-0 mark in City League play.
One of those younger players was the key to a recent victory. Sophomore midfielder/striker Riley O’Toole’s second-half goal proved the difference in a 1-0 win in a non-league game against La Jolla’s Vikings on the Pointers’ pitch.
“I won a 50-50 ball and was able to dribble before I got off a good shot to score the goal,” O’Toole said. She led the team with 10 goals last year as a freshman.
She also plays on the under 15 team for the San Diego Surf’s Elite Clubs National League and has hopes of playing Div. I college soccer “somewhere on the East Coast.” She noted offers may be made once players reach the junior year of their prep career.
The victory was special, coming at the end of a stressful week for the athletes on head coach John Murphy’s roster.
“I’ve got a bunch of high-achieving, high-striving kids,” a relieved Murphy said after the Viking game. “We’ve got a bunch of 4.0 (grade point average) and above girls on the team, and many of them were staying up until 2 a.m. every night this week studying for finals. To fight fatigue and some colds and come out and give an effort like this is really fabulous.”
And Murphy is well aware of his team’s youthful roster.
“We’ve got some real impact freshmen who have mixed in well with the sophomores,” said Murphy, now in his eighth year as head coach. “But we also have some great senior leadership with defender/midfielder Cassidy Campe, midfielder Taylor Hopkins, defender Zoe Bodie and midfielder Audrey Herrin-Warner, all of whom are contributing starters. Along with defender Katherine Minyard, we have four or five seniors mixed in with the younger players, and it’s a nice blend. “Junior Jordan Patane has made a big impact for us as a forward,” Murphy added. “She’s done a fantastic job, another kid who’s just lights out in the classroom.”
“We have a lot of young players on our team who are all quality players,” O’Toole said, “and I think we have a really good chance to win league.”
To date, the Lady Pointers have scored 43 goals while allowing a skimpy 13.
Another freshman, Taylor Washington, has been in goal for 10 of the team’s wins, compiling an 0.8 goals against average with seven shutouts.
Offensively, Patane leads the team (9 goals, 10 assists for 28 points), followed closely by freshman Iyana Zimmerman (8, 11, 27). O’Toole (7, 4, 18), Campe (5, 2, 12) and junior Natasha Camacho-Bier (2, 6, 10) round out the top offensive producers for the Lady Pointers.
Team captains are Herrin-Warner, Taylor Hopkins and Campe. Also part of the Lady Pointers’ success are freshmen Peyton Van Arsdale and Abigail Bates; sophomores Anna Regula, Clara MacCulloch, Kennedy Hopkins, MaKenna Peter, Vivian Loewer, Lily Lutz, Moorea Makis and Lauren Justus; juniors Jaquelyn Neves and April Lopez Garcia. Extra points:
-The Lady Pointers have dedicated their season to former Pointer soccer player Brady Truesdale, who passed away in a car accident a year ago. The phrases, “You’ll never walk alone” and “100% Guaranteed,” two of Truesdale’s favorites, are written on the back of every girls’ training shirt.
-Every member of the Lady Pointer soccer team was treated to a “salon day” in advance of last Saturday’s annual ASB Ball. A dozen stylists were brought in by Sweet Salon Haircare at 1855 Bacon St. in Ocean Beach, with each girl receiving a complimentary hair styling along with makeup suggestions and other beauty tips.
-Murphy’s team has recorded a CIF championship (2009) and two league titles (2011, 2013).
nHis assistant coaches are Alex Van Heuven and Jose Garcia.