Bishop Diego goalie Jessica Brosnan gets to a forward pass before the intended target, Ashlee Smith of Citrus Valley. (Presidio Sports Photos)
There was no slowing down Citrus Valley on Wednesday as the top-seeded Blackhawks continued their dominance with a 7-0 CIF victory over Bishop Diego in the second round of the Division-6 playoff.
Citrus Valley, a two-time defending CIF-ss champion, has won 14 straight while outscoring its opponents 116-5 in that time. With seven-goals allowed, Bishop Diego technically held them below their 8-plus goal average during the streak.
“We played a lot better than we did in the first round,” said Blackhawks head coach Jacob Geverians. “We were much more comfortable, much more organized, moved the ball really well considering the conditions.”
Ashlee Smith scored the game’s first two goals – both on assists from Lauren Haddock – to give the Blackhawks a quick 2-0 lead. Smith scored again in the second half for a hat trick.
Loren Landrus, Taylor DeJongh, Allison Herrin, and Destiny Blythe added goals for Citrus Valley, who led 3-0 at halftime. Several more dangerous attempts on goal were turned away by goalie Jessica Brosnan.
While the offense did its job, Wednesday’s result was the Blackhawks’ seventh-straight shutout.
Citrus Valley (24-3-1) advances to Friday’s quarterfinal match.
The Cardinals came close to scoring several times in the second half. Judith Angulo took a corner that was re-directed on goal by right at the goalie. A few minutes later, Angulo stole possession in the middle of the field not far from the Citrus Valley goal but again the shot was saved.
“You hear that they’re going to be a good team and they’ve done well, but who knows who they’ve played and all that, so we just came out to play hard and finish off strong. Let our seniors have a fun game.” said Cardinals head coach Tessa Binkley.
Bishop Diego will graduate five seniors. Hannah Brand, Brosnan, Liz Verduzco and Rachel Uribe-Raya all played on Wednesday. The fifth senior, Annelise Morando, was leading the team in goals scored before suffering a season-ending injury in January.
Bishop Diego finishes its season with a record of 13-6-3.
Citrus Valley’s Mimi Johnson gets ready to make a play on a high ball in front of Bishop Diego’s Judith Angulo.
