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High School Roundup: Edison, Los Al battle to tie again

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Only a half-game separated the top two teams in the Sunset League girls’ soccer title chase when Edison played against visiting Los Alamitos Tuesday.

By the time the final horn of the key contest had sounded on a cold night, the league’s top two sports remained the same.

Edison took a first-half lead on Los Al, but the Griffins scored the equalizing goal in the second half, and the teams played to their second 1-1 tie score of the season.

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It was the same score the teams produced when they met on Jan. 8.

Junior Mackenzie Cerda scored for Edison, ranked sixth in CIF Southern Section Division 1, in both games. In Tuesday’s tie, she powered a shot into the left corner of the goal at the 13:37 mark of the first half. Off a free kick, senior Brooke Lillywhite’s pass through several Los Al defenders set up Cerda, who then drove toward the goal.

Gracie Kaub scored in the 47th minute of the second half for the Griffins, who are ranked tied for No. 9 in the division.

The outcome kept Los Al in first place in the Sunset League with a 5-0-2 record. Two-time defending league champion Edison is second at 4-0-3.

“A very intense game, indeed. It always is with Los Alamitos,” Edison Coach Kerry “Mac” Crooks said. “I told the girls ahead that being in these pressurized games is a privilege. It can only sharpen us for CIF, and since we have no control in the league standings other than our own games, we just have to take what we have learned and put it in our ‘toolbox.’”

In other Sunset League games Tuesday, Marina and Huntington Beach battled to a scoreless tie, and Fountain Valley was upended, 2-1, by Newport Harbor.

Emma Walker had several crucial saves for Marina, which included stopping a header by Huntington’s Lindsey Archer, in the Vikings’ scoreless tie with the Oilers (8-4-4, 2-2-3 in league).

Kayla Perry, Kaitlin Andersen, Sami Swanson, Emily Vanasse, Nicole Salazar and Maddie Fitzpatrick created offensive opportunities for the Vikings.

“Our defense played extremely well together and our offense had several opportunities throughout the match,” said Marina Coach Sarah Harding, whose team is 2-3-2 in league and 5-12-4 overall. “Kayla had a volley placed just inside the post that their keeper saved; both ‘Michigan’ (Andersen) and Nicole [Salazar] had a few dangerous opportunities, as well. Emma [Walker] made a great save off Archer’s header.”

“This was a well-fought battle by both sides that kept us all on the edge of our seats up until the last whistle.”

Madison Gomez scored for Fountain Valley in its loss to the Sailors.

Edison, ranked seventh in Division 1, fell from a tie for the top spot on Jan. 17 after playing Huntington Beach to a 1-1 tie. On Monday, the Chargers picked up a 2-1 victory over Newport Harbor, getting two scores in the second half from Cerda.

In Sunset League action Jan. 21, Edison defeated Newport Harbor, 2-1, Marina fell, 3-1, to Los Al, and Huntington shut down Fountain Valley, 2-0. Cerda scored two second-half goals for Edison in its win, and Carolyn Archer and Dottie Rhoten scored for Huntington in its victory.

The Sunset schedule Thursday has Huntington playing host to Newport Harbor at 3 p.m., Edison playing at 3:15 p.m. at Marina, and Fountain Valley taking on host Los Al at 3:15 p.m. at Laurel School.

The league enters its final week next week. On Tuesday, Huntington plays at 3:15 p.m. at Los Alamitos, Marina is home at 3:15 p.m. to Newport Harbor, and Edison plays host to Fountain Valley at 5 p.m.

Ocean View: The Seahawks fell, 2-1, to Segerstrom in Golden West League play Tuesday.

Emma Malsy registered 18 saves for Ocean View which is 2-4-1 in league and 7-8-1 overall. The Seahawks play at 5 p.m. Thursday at Westminster. A victory by the Seahawks would move them into third place in the league standings.

In a previous league game played Jan. 24, Ocean View edged Santa Ana, 3-2, in overtime. Jade Kratovil scored the winning goal and previously earned two assists on first-half goals by Sam Romo and Danni Dapello that had given the Seahawks a 2-0 lead. Malsy recorded eight saves.

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Boys’ Soccer

Edison: The Chargers staged a dramatic comeback from a 3-1 deficit with less than 10 minutes to play in Friday’s Sunset League game against Newport Harbor, to defeat the Sailors, 4-3, in sudden-death overtime.

With a little more than one minute left in regulation play, Hunter Klinge scored on a free kick for the Chargers to tie the score. Cobi Biefield scored the game-wining goal, his second goal of the game, just over a minute into overtime.

Klinge also had an assist and Garen Balikcioglu had a goal and assist for Edison (12-6-3, 4-2-1 in league). The Chargers share second place with Fountain Valley in the league standings and the teams trailed league-leading Los Alamitos (5-1-1 in league) by one game heading into this week’s action.

Edison played host to Los Alamitos Wednesday. The score wasn’t available at press time.

“This game was one the most exciting games I have ever been a part of,” Edison Coach Charlie Breneman said. “To come back in the way we did was really special. This team has a ton of heart and the guys who came off the bench, changed the outcome of the game. I couldn’t be more proud of the kids.”

The Chargers play host to Marina at 5 p.m. Friday. They end league play Wednesday with a 3 p.m. game at Fountain Valley.

Fountain Valley: The Barons stayed tied for second place with Edison in the Sunset League standings by blanking Huntington Beach, 2-0, Friday.

The win upped Fountain Valley’s league record to 4-2-1.

Derek Huynen and Joseph Soliman scored goals, Oscar Fernandez had an assist and goalie Ryan Brown recorded five saves. Coach Rick Brown said the Barons’ defense “continues to play well.”

Fountain Valley is on the road for a key, 3 p.m. league clash Friday at Los Alamitos. The Barons play host to Edison at 3 p.m. in the league finale for both teams Wednesday.

Huntington Beach: The Oilers saw their Sunset League record slip to 2-4-1 after a 2-0 loss Friday to Fountain Valley.

Huntington travels Friday for a 4:45 p.m. league game at Newport Harbor. The Oilers wrap league play with a 3 p.m. home game Wednesday against Los Alamitos.

Marina: The Vikings dropped another close Sunset League match Friday when they were edged in overtime, 4-3, by Los Alamitos.

Jaric Marton scored twice and Alex Ortega scored once for Marina, which slipped to 1-5-1 in league and 9-9-3 overall. Each of the Vikings’ five league losses have been by a single goal and two have been decided in overtime.

“I was proud of the team’s play against Los Al,” Marina Coach Jeff Schofield said. “We battled all game long against a very good team and we came up just short. We need to continue this type of performance for the last three league games to give us a chance to make the playoffs.”

Marina next plays at 5 p.m. Friday at Edison, and ends league and regular season play Wednesday with a 3 p.m. game at Newport Harbor.

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Girls’ Water Polo

Ocean View: The Seahawks, the top-ranked team in Division 7, trailed host Segerstrom in the third quarter, but fought back for an 8-4 victory over the Jaguars in a key Golden West League game Tuesday.

Ocean View trailed, 4-3, in the quarter, but closed the game on a 5-0 run. Elena Isogawa scored four goals for the Seahawks, who improved to 6-0 in league and 18-7 overall.

In weekend action, Ocean View went 3-1 and finished in fifth place Saturday at the Roy Brown Classic at Katella High. The Seahawks scored wins over Santa Ana Valley (6-4), Katella (15-7) and Savanna (6-3), and lost to La Habra (8-2).

Edison: The Chargers, ranked No. 8 in Division 1, split a pair of nonleague games against San Clemente and Costa Mesa.

Edison held a 5-4 lead on San Clemente, but was outscored, 3-0, over the final three minutes and suffered a 7-5 loss Friday to the Tritons (No. 10, Division 2). Melissa Balding and Risa Burke both scored twice, Delaney Cleveland scored once, and Josette Santos had seven saves for the Chargers.

“Defensively I thought our girls were solid for all but the final few minutes,” Edison Coach Diggy Riley said. “We lost our sense of urgency on the defensive end in the final few minutes. It was a tough loss for us, but hopefully we can learn from this defeat.”

The Chargers rebounded Saturday against Costa Mesa and posted a 13-3 win over the host Mustangs. Balding led the scoring with six goals. Cleveland, Sabrina Jensen and Lyndsie Williams all scored twice, and Santos registered 10 saves.

Edison led, 5-1, after one quarter and shut out the Mustangs in the second quarter in taking a 10-1 lead.

“We knew going into our game with Costa Mesa that they are a vastly improved team with a ton of speed that trains in a 50-meter pool,” Riley said. “Our game-plan was to initiate a hard press and try to take them out of the game early, which is exactly what we did.”

The Chargers begin play Thursday at the SoCal Championships in Irvine.

Huntington Beach: The Oilers took on Costa Mesa in nonleague play Friday and scored a 10-4 win over the visiting Mustangs.

“We locked down the defense in the second half and blanked them,” said Huntington Coach Brian Anderson, whose squad outscored Costa Mesa, 5-0, in the second half.

Huntington, which entered the week 13-11 overall, will play host to El Dorado on senior night at 3 p.m. Friday. The Oilers complete their Sunset League schedule Wednesday against Edison at 6:05 p.m. at Newport Harbor High.

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Wrestling

Fountain Valley defeated host Marina, 34-25, Tuesday to earn a share of the Sunset League title with the Vikings and Los Alamitos. The three teams each went 4-1 in league dual meet competition.

Marina (12-6 overall) had previous clinched a share of the league title by upending Newport Harbor, 53-18, Friday. Vikings Coach Chris Rasmussen said it is the first time that Marina has won or shared a Sunset title since 1988.

The Sunset League wrestling finals are Saturday at Fountain Valley.

Ocean View: The Seahawks are 1-4 in Golden West League competition, their win, 39-38, coming against Orange. Senior Jason Correa is undefeated in league action and placed second in his division Saturday at Santiago.

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CIF Weekly Rankings

Girls’ Soccer: Edison (No. 6, Division 1).

Girls’ Water Polo: Edison (No. 8, Division 1); Ocean View (No. 1, Division 7).

michael.sciacca@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeSciacca

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