The following summaries were provided by team coaches and/or representatives for some of this past week’s Santa Clarita Valley prep sports action. The Signal thanks all who submitted for helping get the word out about local athletes’ achievements. In the event that both teams submit reports on the same event, the reports will be edited to combine them into one summary:
Girls Basketball: Trinity 53, Fillmore 42
Trinity Classical Academy varsity girls’ basketball beat Fillmore May 14 at home, 53-42.
Lily Caddow scored 31 points and Kelly Lotz scored 18 points, setting up a matchup with Faith Baptist on Tuesday for the Heritage League title.
— Katie Roberts, Trinity basketball coach
Girls Basketball: Trinity 48, Faith Baptist 25
Trinity Classical Academy girls’ varsity basketball won their game Tuesday afternoon against Faith Baptist, 48-25, to solidify the Heritage League championship. Playoffs begin next week.
— Katie Roberts, Trinity basketball coach
Girls Soccer Playoffs: Saugus 4, La Serna 1
The Saugus girls varsity soccer team took to the road to face La Serna in the first round of the CIF playoffs May 12. The Centurions came out quick and scored less than two minutes into the contest with Grace Rutherford receiving a nice cross from Alyssa Edwards and putting it in the net. The Centurions kept the pressure on La Serna when Ryan Shepherd beat the defense and buried a shot to put the Cents up 2-0 in the seventh minute and Presley Williams followed shortly after off a corner kick from Jazmine Flores that put them up 3-0 heading to halftime.
La Serna got on the board early in the second half to cut into the lead, but Williams again connected off a corner kick to seal the win, 4-1. The playoff win was the first for the program in more than 10 years and next up will be Oxnard High School in the CIF quarterfinals.
— Kevin Miner, Saugus girls soccer head coach
Girls Soccer Playoffs: Saugus 3, Oxnard 2
The Saugus girls varsity soccer team hosted the second-round CIF playoff game on May 14 and took on undefeated Oxnard High School. Oxnard came into the contest 11-0-1 overall and 10-0 in the Pacific View league and had only allowed one goal all year long.
Once again, the Lady Cents came out fast and scored in the first five minutes of the game. Ryan Shepherd stole the ball at midfield and beat the defenders and the keeper to put the Cents up 1-0. Oxnard answered back a few minutes later to even the score at 1-1. Shortly after Oxnard tied the score, the Centurions put the pressure on and earned a throw-in deep in Oxnard territory. Lizzie Edwards took the throw and Nya Baccelli passed the ball back to Edwards, who took a tough angle shot and placed it perfectly in the upper corner to give the Cents the 2-1 lead.
Saugus was not satisfied with the one-goal lead and kept the pressure on, and late in the first half earned a corner kick. Sascha Marcellin was on the receiving end of a perfect ball from MacKenzie Jones to stretch the lead to 3-1 heading to halftime.
The second half featured the teams battling for possession and Saugus hitting the goal post on multiple occasions trying to stretch their lead. As time was winding down, the Centurions were called for a handball in the box and Oxnard capitalized on the penalty kick to cut the score to 3-2 with under four minutes remaining in the game. The defense hung tight and the Centurions claimed the victory, 3-2.
With the win Saugus earned the opportunity to travel to Sunny Hills High School to take on the No. 3-ranked and undefeated Lancers in the CIF quarterfinals.
— Kevin Miner, Saugus girls soccer head coach
Girls Soccer CIF Quarterfinals: Saugus 1, Sunny Hills 0
The Lady Cents took the long trip to Fullerton to face off with undefeated and third-ranked Sunny Hills in the CIF quarterfinals on Tuesday. The teams battled for the first 40 minutes with each team having very few scoring opportunities, and the teams went to halftime tied at zero.
The second half featured much of the same as the teams went back and forth trying to figure out how to get a goal. Sunny Hills had two great chances and on both occasions the Saugus defense tightened and turned them away.
With about 10 minutes left in the game, Sunny Hills broke through the defense and had a 1-on-1 with Centurion goalkeeper Rebecca Lim. Lim forced the Sunny Hills player wide and dove to force the player to make a decision, which resulted in a missed shot.
As time was winding down the Centurions took possession of the ball and worked it into the Sunny Hills defensive third when Ryan Shepherd passed the ball to Jazmine Flores, who then sent a cross into the box. Lauren Park was there as well as a Sunny Hills defender, who forced the ball to pop out to Nya Baccelli, who drilled a shot into the back of the net to put Saugus up 1-0.
The Centurions had to withstand a furious Sunny Hills attack in the final three minutes to earn the win. The Saugus defense was huge in this game, shutting out a very fast and skilled Sunny Hills team. The defense was led by seniors Presley WIlliams and Lizzie Edwards, along with juniors Natalie Quezada, Alina Bench and Micah Sheff.
Goalkeepers Avery Wilson (senior) and Lim (junior) made save after save to keep the clean sheet. Offensively the Centurions are led by Lauren Park, Sascha Marcellin, Jazmine Flores and Ryan Shepherd in the midfield with Nya Baccelli, Alyssa Edwards, Grace Rutherford and MacKenzie Jones up top.
The Centurions now move into the CIF semifinals on Saturday and will host Downey High School at 3 p.m.
— Kevin Miner, Saugus girls soccer head coach
Girls Basketball: Trinity 49, Moorpark 39
Trinity Classical Academy varsity girls basketball beat Moorpark High School, 49-39, on Wednesday.
Lily Caddow scored 22 points and Kelly Lotz scored 17 points.
— Katie Roberts, Trinity basketball coach
Softball: Valencia 12, Hart 1
A seven-run first inning led Valencia to a 12-1 victory on Monday. Valencia’s batters contributing to the big inning included Maia Paragas, Addison Snyder, Akina Celentano, Lani Paragas and Emma Seper, all driving in runs in the frame.
Casey Edwards was credited with the victory for Valencia. The ace allowed three hits and one run over five innings, striking out two and walking one.
Valencia launched one home run on the day. Izzy Mertes put one out in the fifth inning.
Valencia tallied 14 hits on the day. Seper, Snyder, Haley Cheek and Celentano all managed multiple hits for Valencia.
— Valencia softball via GameChanger app
Softball: Valencia 7, West Ranch 5
Valencia built a seven-run lead in the fifth inning and then held off West Ranch’s charge for a 7-5 victory on Thursday.
Valencia earned the victory despite allowing West Ranch to score five runs in the fifth inning.
Valencia opened up scoring in the first inning, when Izzy Mertes doubled on a 1-1 count, scoring two runs.
Casey Edwards earned the win for Valencia. The hurler went seven innings, allowing five runs on 11 hits, striking out five and walking one.
Valencia launched one home run on the day. Emma Bramson went for the long ball in the third inning.
Valencia scattered 14 hits in the game. Maia Paragas, Emma Seper, Bramson, Delaney Scully and Akina Celentano all managed multiple hits for Valencia.
Valencia plays Saugus and Golden Valley next week at home.
— Valencia softball via GameChanger app
— More sports roundups coming soon.
