Owls’ season ends in double overtime, 2-1

CARSON — Heartbreak struck in the 100th minute for the Laguna Blanca girls soccer team on Friday.

The Owls (15-5-2) were less than a minute away from going to a penalty-kick shootout with top-seeded CAMS at the Home Depot Center before Nnedy Obiwuru chested a ball off the crossbar and barely over the goal line, ending Laguna’s season in double-overtime of the CIF quarterfinals.

To add to the drama, it was one of those too-close-to-call goals that just barely crossed the plane. Obiwuru even had her doubts before finally seeing it trickle past.

“I thought it was going to bounce out and the refs might not see it because they were at a weird angle, but it went in,” she said.

Laguna Blanca sophomore Becca Braly

The tears began flowing for the Owls immediately, but senior co-captain Erin Stone had already come to the realization that her team did all it could.

“We really played our hearts out, and there’s nothing really to be sad about. I’m really just sad because the most amazing girls I’ve ever played with,” said Stone, who will play at Tufts University in Boston next year.

The Rebels (11-1) struck first 19 minutes into the second half when a free kick from 40 yards out came into the box and CAMS captain Connie Friedman challenged for a ball with Laguna goalie Arabella Watters. Both ended up on the ground but Friedman ended up with the shot and put it in the net.

Laguna responded 14 minutes later when Stone shipped a ball over to Lauren McAlister, who broke through a pair of Rebel defenders and buried a 1-on-1 opportunity.

There were some heart-stopping moments on both sides of the field in the sudden-death overtimes.  In the first overtime, Watters had a shot fly at her towards the top of the goal, and instead of trying to catch it she punched it up and barely over the bar.

It was a physical match both ways, and CAMS was given a yellow card shortly after for a takedown at midfield. Towards the end of the period, Fiona Jessup blasted a left-footed ball from the corner of the box that Laguna’s nervous fans thought was the game-winner, but CAMS goalie Leah Spaulding made the leaping save.

In the second overtime, McAlister sent a cross to Becca Braly, who shot just wide to the far post. The Rebels then got a shot that looked like it went in from the sidelines, but was actually into the side-netting. CAMS fans went wild thinking the game was over, but they were a few minutes premature.

Stone made a sliding stop of a CAMS breakaway opportunity just about two minutes before Obiwuru put away the winner.

“I’m glad we got a good test… The last thing we needed was an easy game, so I’m glad we had to fight through it,” said Rebels coach Jim Watwood.

Erin Stone

He added that he felt the whistle should have blown a bit more against the Owls down the stretch.

“They got really physical at the end. I don’t want to say much about the officiating, but it was pretty weak officiating,” he said. “But that doesn’t matter. It is what it is and it’s what we deal with. That’s how the game works.”

Laguna coach Gregg Luna, meanwhile, said Watwood was accusing him of having Laguna players injure CAMS players.

“This was one of the most technical teams we’ve faced. They really moved the ball around well. I think we started to get more physical in the second half and it showed. The other coach accused us of telling our kids to hurt the other kids. That’s how physical it was,” he said.

After making the semifinals last year and winning back-to-back Condor League titles for the first time in program history, Luna is excited about the future. Among other things, he said he expects Watters to be “one of the best keepers in league” next year.

“I’m excited and the girls are excited. The future looks bright for us. Apparently we’re going to have a very good freshman class coming in, so it’s just a matter of continuing to work hard,” he said.