El Toro Takes Title in Overtime

CERRITOS â€”  Had it all ended in a tie, players, fans and coaches from both sides probably would have thought it a fitting finish.

After all, these had been such evenly matched teams that they ended their league season by sharing the South Coast League title.

So why not share a Southern Section title too?

Sorry Dana Hills, but El Toro High School was in no mood for such niceties Friday night.

With highly aggressive play from the start, El Toro outplayed Dana Hills for a 1-0 overtime victory, giving the Chargers their first girls’ soccer championship.

“It was totally El Toro tonight,� Charger Coach Bob Chavez yelled above his team’s midfield celebration at Gahr High School.

“We knew going in we were stronger than they were. I’m not taking anything away from Dana Hills, but this was our game all the way.�

And it was Kymm Maniscalco’s goal, six minutes into overtime, that enabled El Toro (21-3-3) to breathe a little easier. Going into overtime, the Chargers had outplayed Dana Hills (22-4-2) to such an extent that a loss would have been that much more difficult to accept.

In the end, counting the two 10-minute overtime periods, the shot count read: El Toro 23, Dana Hills 5.

“We hammered them, plain and simple, we hammered them,� Chavez said. “Going in today, we knew if we played our game, it was ours. And that’s what we did.�

Of course, if it weren’t for Maniscalco’s goal--a quick flick of a kick off a perfect cross by Shawna Berke--all that work would’ve been for naught. As it was, El Toro had a difficult enough time trying to break through the impressive goalkeeping by Dana Hills senior Briana O’Dowd.

O’Dowd played a tremendous game, making eight saves, including several body-sacrificing dives and tumbles to keep El Toro at bay.

“Their keeper kept them in the match,� Chavez said. “I’ll tell you what--it’s a blowout without that goalie.�

Said O’Dowd: “We have an awesome team. There’s no way there’ll ever be a better Dana Hills team in history. We came out and played our hardest. I don’t know, I would’ve settled for a tie, I could’ve settled for a tie . . . “

But the other side wasn’t settling. Especially Maniscalco, who in addition to her goal was awarded a yellow card for rough play.

“We knew it was going to be a real hard game,� said Maniscalco, who scored six of her 15 goals this season during the playoffs. “Going from being co-league champions to (playing in the final of) CIF . . . our motto is just go out and do it. Give it all you’ve got. That’s what we did.�