Kaiser Lady Cats Soccer: Welcome
Thursday, October 4 |
|
|
|
| view full size |
Welcome to the website for the Kaiser Lady Cats Soccer Program.
BACK TO BACK
SUNKIST LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
2007 & 2008
Thursday, January 24
Kaiser girls' soccer team stays in first place
The first-place Cats raised their record to 4-0 in league action and 13-4-1 overall.
Estephany Monroy scored two goals and Jessica Cortez had an assist for the Cats.
In a previous game, Kaiser shut out Jurupa Valley, 2-0.
Tiffany Pena and Cortez both scored goals and Monroy and Cortez each recorded an assist.
Biana Velasco achieved her second shutout. She was supported by a strong defensive effort from Cathia Sanchez, Emma Martinez, Lupe Flores, Lorena Salcedo, and Jessica Velasquez.
|
|
Kaiser is seeking its second straight league title.
Wednesday, January 9
Updated:
Reigning champion Cats still have a grip on the crown
 |
But Summit found out that the 2007 defending Sunkist champions aren't ready to surrender their crown, as the Cats staged a second-half comeback to down the SkyHawks 4-1 last week.
Summit scored first on Brianna Turner's goal at 31 minutes with an assist from Emily Perez to hold a 1-0 lead at halftime.
At the half, Kaiser coach Dave Showalter gave his charges some calming advice: "I told them they were too anxious, to settle down," he said.
The advice must have worked, because when second half play started, the Cats unleashed a ferocious offensive attack.
Less than a minute into the half, Tiffany Pena tied the game by stealing the ball from a scramble of players at about midfield. She broke free, dribbled down the center of the field, and drove the ball into the lower left corner of the net.
|
|
But Pena didn't stop there. She scored two more goals, both coming on beautiful, long passes over the defense. And she outraced the Summit defenders to the ball to score in a one-on-one battle with Summit goalkeeper Gisselle Valiente.
"We started opening up the field more," said Pena, who has scored 25 goals on the season. "We realized we couldn't get by the defense unless we opened up."
Jessica Cortez scored the go-ahead goal to give Kaiser a 2-1 lead at 26 minutes. From 15 yards out on the left side of the goal, Cortez lined up for a direct kick, and she hit a perfect, calculated shot.
"I saw the goalie taking a spot that took away my right side of the goal," said Cortez. "And the (defensive) wall lined up and took away my left side. I decided to chip it over the wall." And her goal couldn't have been any more perfect as it arched just over the outstretched hands of the wall and just over goalkeeper Valiente's leap.
With the win, Kaiser raised its record to 10-4-1 overall.
And the Cats didn't overlook Summit's meteoric rise from a 6-6-4 record and fourth-place finish in the Sunkist in 2006. Cortez said they didn't take the second-year school lightly. They knew they were for real. "We talked about this game all week, and got ready for them," she said. "This is a big win for us to start our way in league."
Showalter has to be pleased. He not only has the high-scoring Cortez, but with the addition of the freshman Pena, he has a powerful, one-two scoring tandem. Last season, Cortez paced the Cats' attack with 35 goals. But she missed the early going this season, and has four to date. However, there's no animosity over Pena's early success and 25 goals. Instead, she says they complement each other well.
"It feels very good to have Tiffany on the team," said Cortez. "We know we can count on her."
Cats' goalkeeper Bianco Velasco was also pleased to see the second-half scoring outburst. In the first half, Summit controlled much of the action. "In the first half they (Summit) were attacking down the middle on us," said Velasco, who had three saves. "When we scored, it takes off a lot of the pressure."
IN A GAME last Friday, Kaiser downed Bloomington, 2-0, as Cortez scored two goals, both in the second half. Bobbie Roberts and Cathia Sanchez each had assists, and Bianca Velasco had seven saves.
(In the photo above, Tiffany Pena and Jessica Cortez celebrated after a goal against Summit. Photo by Bob Otto.)
Saturday, December 22
| Sports |
Cats' complete game dominates Cowgirls
 |
Staff Writer
The Kaiser Cats played superior defense, passing, and scoring to overwhelm the Cajon Cowgirls, 6-0, in a pre-season soccer match, on Friday, December 21, at Kaiser High School.
Led by midfielder, Bobbie Roberts, and the Cats' team defense, Cajon had only three shots on goal. Kaiser dominated play, and kept the ball in Cajon's side of the field throughout the match. Good passing from the midfielders to forwards, Tiffany Pena, Jessica Cortez, and Estephany Monroy, resulted in the Cajon goal being peppered with 16 shots.
"Our passing was real good," said Kaiser Head Coach, Dave Showalter. "We're starting to realize that we've got to share the ball."
The Cats had gone the entire pre-season without forward, Jessica Cortez, but she returned to score Kaiser's first goal about 10-minutes into the first half. That opened the scoring, as freshman, Beth Roberts, scored on a break away down the left sideline, three minutes later.
|
|
Bobbie Roberts said that the Cats are improving as the season progresses. "Our passing was real good, and we opened up the field and made good passes into the box," she said. "We made some adjustments, we communicated, and had good passing. We're getting better every single game."
Kaiser led at the half, 2-0, but at five minutes into the second half, Monroy scored in front of the goal on a nice cross feed from Cortez. Cortez was the Cats' leading scorer last season.
Although, they missed her, Showalter said, Cortez' absence actually helped bolster the team's confidence. "They realized that they can win without her," said Showalter.
In Cortez' absence, Pena, a sophomore who transferred in from Rancho Cucamonga, has picked up the scoring with 12 goals, said Showalter. And she added two more against Cajon - scoring back-to-back goals in the second half.
Her second goal was one for the television sports highlight reels. Pena took a six-foot high pass from Kim Escobedo in front of the goal, leaped, flicked her head sideways to the right, and shot a header into the net, just by the goalkeeper, to give Kaiser a 5-0 lead.
Pena also got an assist from Cathia Sanchez on her first goal. Monroy scored the Cats' final goal on a break away with five seconds left to play.
The win improves the Cats' record to 7-1-1, while Cajon stands at 2-6. "We're getting closer to where we want to be for league," said Showalter, adding that the Sunkist will be very competitive. But the Cat's will be in the thick of the battle for league supremacy, he said. "Our strength is our returning starters and a lot more depth," said Showalter.
"We've also had a lot of good freshmen come up from junior varsity. When we play our game, we can play with anybody."
Scoring: Pena, 2 goals; Monroy, 2; Cortez, 1; Beth Roberts, 1; Assists: Escobedo 2; Cortez, Sanchez, and Monroy, one each. Saves: Bianca Velasco, 3, all in the first half.
(Photo caption: Bobbie Roberts shoots the ball at the goal.)
Thursday, November 22
| Sports |
Kaiser's new synthetic turf field gets rave reviews
 |
The hoopla? The long-awaited grand opening of Kaiser High School's new synthetic turf athletic field. And the Kaiser girls' varsity soccer team had the honor of playing in the first-ever athletic event on the beautiful dark green, gray and gold colors that mark -- as the girls' said -- the awesome field.
"The field is beautiful, the best field ever," said Cats' goalkeeper Myra Ruiz, a senior. She remembers playing on the grass soccer field in the back part of the high school. The field was OK, but lumpy and uneven.
Now, the ball rolls smooth, bounces nice, and the game is faster, said Ruiz.
On Nov. 20, the Cats opened their season with a scrimmage against Chaffey High School, receiving a goal by Brittney Yip and two goals from Bobbie Roberts while shutting out the Tigers. Roberts' first goal proved to be historic and may be a trivia question in years to come, as in: "Who scored the first-ever soccer goal on Kaiser's synthetic turf field?"
But Roberts didn't dwell on the goal that may link her to school trivia history. Instead, she focused on the field's attributes. "It's wider with a lot more space between defenders to pass," said Roberts, a senior, who scored eight goals last season.
|
|
Coach Dave Showalter was all smiles as he watched his team warm up. Showalter has much to feel good about. He has got 13 veterans returning along with several newcomers, who should help improve on a superb 2006-2007 season. Last year's team claimed the Sunkist League championship with a 7-1-2 record, 17-3-3 overall.
"The girls are quite amazed and excited about being the first to play on the field," said Showalter. "They will play the first two games on it; the boys (soccer team) are totally jealous."
As for this year's squad, Showalter said he expects the veteran team to build upon last season's success. "They've been there now, and they know what it takes to win," he said.
In the Sunkist, he expects stiff challenges from Rubidoux, Bloomington, Jurupa Valley, and Summit. "Summit returns every player," said Showalter. "If you can survive in this league, you should be pretty good."
To prepare for the Sunkist, Showalter has entered his team in two tough pre-league tournaments: The 32-team Western Christian High School Tournament based in West Covina that starts Dec. 13, and the San Gorgonio Tournament in late December.
"In the Western Christian we'll meet La Canada and Newport Harbor," he said. "If we want to get better, we've got to play better teams."
But on Tuesday, talk glowed and gushed about Kaiser's turf field. The tournaments would come; enjoying the field on a balmy fall and historic day took precedence.
Watching on the sidelines was Fontana Unified School District's construction specialist and the field's project manager, Albert Orahim. The first phase is about done, except for some touch-up work like painting the track's lane stripes and tweaking with the irrigation system, he said.
The second phase will start soon with installation of the bleachers, lights, concession stands, and two separate buildings for the home and visiting teams, said Orahim.
"The second phase will be done by the end of May (2008)," said Orahim. "Our main goal is to have the kids graduate on this new field."
As for the field, itself? "It's coming out really nice," said Orahim. "I wish I had it when I played soccer."