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By Zach Cavanagh
It’s been a long 80 minutes on the pitch for all of the San Clemente girls soccer team’s opponents this season. The Tritons have yet to be beaten in seven games, with a 5-0-2 record, and San Clemente has allowed only two goals while scoring 12.
While San Clemente remained unranked in the latest CIF-SS Division 1 & 2 poll, the Tritons will likely break into the top 16 when the next poll is released after an impressive run through the Butch Lee Memorial Tournament.
San Clemente opened the tournament with a win over reigning San Diego Division 1 champion Torrey Pines, 3-1, with goals from seniors Makenzie Gutowski, Zona Miller and Sophia Yeskulsky. The Tritons went on to torch St. Margaret’s, 5-0, and beat CIF-SS No. 11 Mater Dei, 1-0.
In the semifinals on Saturday, Dec. 10, San Clemente played to a scoreless draw and advanced on penalty kicks over Eastlake of Chula Vista, and later in the day, the Tritons beat CIF-SS No. 1 Temecula Valley, 2-1.
San Clemente then shut out Edison, 1-0, on Tuesday, Dec. 13. Malia McMahon notched the game-winner off a corner kick. It was the Tritons’ fifth shutout of the season.
San Clemente continues in tournament play in Northern California this weekend and the Excalibur Tournament during the week after Christmas.
Alumnus Brzykcy Wins NCAA Soccer National Title
The UCLA Bruins were backstopped by a San Clemente Triton in a dramatic NCAA Division 1 women’s soccer championship game on Dec. 5.
Graduate student Lauren Brzykcy made five saves as UCLA completed an incredible comeback over North Carolina, 3-2, in double overtime. The win brought home UCLA’s 120th NCAA championship across all of its athletic programs.
The top-seeded Bruins trailed the No. 2 Tar Heels by two goals through the first 80 minutes, but strikes in the 80th minute and the 90th minute leveled the match to send the final into overtime. Neither team found the back of the net in the first overtime session, but UCLA scored early in the second overtime to avoid a penalty-kick shootout and claim the national title, the second in program history.
Brzykcy, a 2017 San Clemente graduate, came up with a huge save in the 73rd minute to keep UCLA’s comeback hopes alive.
Brzykcy made 73 saves in 25 games this season with nine shutouts and an impressive 0.56 goals-against average.
Zach Cavanagh
Zach Cavanagh is the sports editor for Picket Fence Media. Zach is a California Journalism Award winner and has covered sports in Orange County since 2013. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @ZachCav and follow our sports coverage on Twitter @SouthOCSports. Email at zcavanagh@picketfencemedia.com.
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