Hart edges Harvard-Westlake in rain for CIF championship
It was Hart versus Harvard-Westlake in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 girls soccer final Friday, but the weather seemed as if it were a team of its own, and it was working against both teams.
Under conditions that caused low visibility as well as slow and unpredictable ball movement, an experienced Hart team was able to beat the Wolverines 1-0 for the CIF-SS title at College of the Canyons.
“We can't control the refs, we can't control the weather,” Hart coach Brett Croft said. “We can't control a lot. So, we just had to show up and play.”
Briley Phelps scored the only goal of the game in the sixth minute. She received a pass from Alexis Nguyen, then finished it off.
“It's hard to pass out here because the ball stops, but we got a good combination in the corner,” Phelps said.
Hart (16-3-4) has a senior-laden group this year with plenty of experience in both high school and club soccer, which made it easier for the group to mentally be dialed in during a game that had less than ideal weather conditions.
Croft has been with the team for eight years total and it's his second year as a head coach. He's worked with this season's 15 seniors long enough to predict something big.
“This group, I've known about them for many years,” said Croft, who was previously an assistant coach. “We've been kind of waiting for this year. We knew the year to do it would be with this group.”
Hart didn't prepare for the weather in a physical sense any differently than it had prepared for its other games this season — only three of which they lost.
Croft talked to his team about the mental side of the game and what they can control. Ordinarily, Hart constantly moves the ball as a possession-based team.
A water-logged field forced them to play a simplified style, but the team still spent most of its time on top of the opposing defense, constantly working the Wolverines (15-5-3).
“I'm always proud of my kids and they always give everything they have and dealt with some really difficult circumstances tonight,” Wolverines coach Richard Simms said. “Defensively, the kids covered each other, had each others backs, did everything we could ask.”
College of the Canyons' soccer facility began flooding around the sidelines before the game started. Nearby, water covered the sides of COC's football field past the hashmarks and up to the yardage numbers.
The wind blew Hart's portable canopy upside down and onto the field during the second half, and the coaching staff scrambled to put it upright again. On the field, the ball rolled sluggishly and players splashed in puddles as they attempted footwork.
“Just being aware of weird bounces and weird skips that the ball takes,” Phelps said of the biggest challenges caused by the rain. “It's super awkward. It's not always going to go where you expect it.”
Both teams move on to the CIF State Regional tournament, which begins Tuesday. The weather, though still unpredictable, should be clearer at that time.
“Being older and having a lot of seniors when you've got crazy weather like this, they were ready to go and they were able to battle,” Croft said.