Page 4 November 25, 2021 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Lady Eagles Look to Repeat Soccer Title
By Gregg McMullin
El Segundo’s Cinderella 2021 season was a
magical one, to be sure. They weren’t picked
to win their first league title since 2008-09,
but they had the talent to get the team back
to the playoffs for the first time in three
seasons. El Segundo got into the playoffs
as a third-place team, and from there, the
Eagles discovered that they not only could
compete at a higher level, they could win.
Head coach Skip Jones says something
sparked his team after their first-round 3-2
overtime win against highly touted Granite
Hills. “After that first-round win, on a cold,
windy day on the road, we knew something
special might be in the works.”
This season the Eagles will have a bullseye
on their back, says Coach Jones. “We
Senior forward Chelsie Charles returns after being named CIF Player of the Year after leading the Eagles to a CIF title. #26 Isabella Munoz made an impact as a freshman for the Eagles and their CIF title run.
enter the season with higher than normal
expectations. Teams won’t take us so lightly,
so we’ll get everyone’s best.” He says his
team has the talent to return to the playoffs
but concedes the road to a consecutive CIF
title could be an arduous road. “The path
could be tougher because we’ve moved up
from Division 3 to Division 4.”
What has the team done to prepare for
the upcoming season? A group of seniors
organized twice a week practices which
were open to all levels and all players. A
majority of the players participate in either
club or recreational soccer, and most have
been involved in cardio workouts.
The Eagles have plenty of talent returning.
The team returns eight starters and a few others
who played a major role off the bench.
Returning starters include Chelsie Charles,
the CIF Player of the Year, Michaela Turner,
Jaden Fode, Ciera Doggett, Holly Wilbanks,
Barcelona Heredia, Isabella Munoz, Charlie
Gerson, and goalkeepers Delaney McRoberts
and Nili Kovacs. In addition, the Eagles get
back three players from injuries that would
have played last season, including Lizzie
Kapoor, Brynn Boyles and Abby Martinez.
New players include seniors Arianna Goitom,
Jillian Ernest, Jayden McColgan, Isabella
Derring, Sarah Bedoyan, Audrey Cdebaca
and Erin Rifkin. Tyler Matlosz rejoins the
team after concentrating on track last season
and sophomore goalkeeper Tanner Ijams.
The Eagles will look to unseat West Torrance
as defending league champions and
fend off South High to win the program’s
first Pioneer League title in 13 years. That’s
when the Eagles won the Pioneer League
title and advanced to the CIF-SS semifinals.
They’ll lean on their experience and Chelsie
Charles’ scoring. In winning the CIF
Player of the Year award, Chelsie matched
her brother Christophe who also won the
award in 2018 in the same sport. It’s a true
rarity that a brother and sister have won the
player of the year award in the same sport.
You might have to go back to the siblings,
Cheryl (1982) and Reggie Miller (1983),
who won the CIF Player of the Year award
in basketball, to find that.
Last season the Eagles played no nonleague
games thanks to the pandemic, so
according to Coach Jones, they didn’t reach
their potential until the first game of the
playoffs. He said with a full slate of nonleague
contests, and he’s hoping for a faster
start this season. The early-going schedule
will certainly test the Eagles. They open
the season on December 1st at Mira Costa
and have other preseason games with Santa
Monica, Bishop Montgomery, Inglewood,
Leuzinger and Peninsula. They’ll also compete
in the South High Holiday Tournament
during December, and open Pioneer League
play at home on January 5th against North
Torrance.
ESGS 14U Golden Eagles take
Second at the LA South Bay
Turkey Tournament in Torrance
The El Segundo Girls Softball team, 14U
Golden Eagles, played in the annual LA South
Bay Turkey Tournament hosted in Torrance.
They survived an opening game tournament
pool play loss to reach the championship
game but fell.
In the opening pool play game, the Golden
Eagles fell behind early and couldn’t come
back in a 9-1 loss to Cerritos Rampage. Mary
Dennis, Eileen Osby and Hailey Kniest each
managed one hit each to lead the Golden
Eagles.
#14 Michaela Turner will be a key returnee for the Eagles. Holly Wilbanks is a returning starter and will bolster a talented team.
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