Dolphins lengthen title run

COSTA MESA ? As the final whistle blew, Dave Scott stormed onto the field and hugged many of the girls on his team. If he could, he would have scooped them all up at the same time.

He said the moment was touching for him.

It was elation, celebration and fascination all rolled into one.

For the fifth straight year, the Daily Pilot Cup Gold Division championship was wonb by the third- and fourth-grade girls of Andersen Elementary. This one had some special meaning for Scott, the coach whose Silver Division team lost in the title game last year.

Many of the girls on Scott’s squad moved on to this year’s Gold Division team and were determined to keep the championship in Andersen’s arms. At times, the title seemed out of reach.

With so many scoring chances ending in sighs of frustration, Andersen definitely felt the pressure of keeping the trophy with the Dolphins.

But with 18 minutes left, Makena Look’s shot went past the goalie for Andersen’s 1-0 win over Lincoln Sunday at the Farm Complex.

Jamie Smith assisted on Look’s goal. The game was a rematch of last year’s championship game, in which Andersen defeated Lincoln, 4-2.

This one seemed closer.

“I was frustrated,” said Look, who was also on last year’s championship team. “When we finally scored [the frustration] ended. We needed to get ahead because [penalty kicks] make me pretty nervous.”

In the first half, the Dolphins missed on four scoring chances and then one more in the second half just before Look’s goal.

With one minute left in the first half, Look came oh so close. Her shot went off the left post.

Then seven minutes into the second half, Look almost placed a shot over the goalie, Sara Clark. But Clark slapped the ball in the air and grabbed it before it could go beyond her.

Several Andersen parents along the sideline swayed and bent over, seemingly trying to will the ball into the goal.

Andersen kept attacking and Look broke through, finishing off the pass from Smith.

“Defense was everything,” said Dave Look, Makena’s father and an assistant coach for the Dolphins. “We could miss goals because we knew it was taken care of by the defense.”

Makena Look and Smith made sure the defense would be rewarded with a goal and another championship.

That defense also included Cayla Yasukochi, Molly Keasey, Claudia Noto and Katie Scott. Yasukochi and Smith shared the goalie duties during the game.

They had to step it up late in the second half, when the Lincoln Leopards were relentless in their attempt to send the game into overtime.

“The girls played with a lot of heart,” Lincoln Coach Mitch Sigband said. “They just never gave up. But [the Dolphins] had a lot of speed. Their speed was incredible.”

Lincoln defeated Adams, 1-0, in the semifinal Saturday and became aware of what was in store with Andersen, which entered the day as the four-time defending champion.

In addition to the Dolphins’ speed, they also had an advantage because some of the girls have been playing together in AYSO throughout their childhood. Scott coached an AYSO plus team that went undefeated and featured the same girls on the Andersen squad, including his daughter Katie.

Keasey, Sabrina Roy, Katherine Noe, Smith were also on that undefeated AYSO plus team.

“I have been coaching half of these girls since they were 5,” Scott said. “It was great to win this. To have all these girls and to have my daughter on the team that’s the thing you only dream about.”

Elisa Clark, Adriana Cremo, Ashley Kayl, Kacie Kline and Charlotte Valentine also contributed to Andersen’s championship run.