CdM shuts out St. Lucy’s

Amara Aguilar

Talk about stepping up.

With two key players out because of injuries, Lauren Shepherdson

scored three goals despite playing with a strained hamstring to lead

Corona del Mar High to a 4-0 shutout over visiting St. Lucy’s in a

nonleague girls soccer game Thursday.

“(Shepherdson) is amazing,” CdM Coach Ron Evans said. “She’s been

busting her butt for me every single day. She comes out in practice and

just battles. She’s been nursing a bad (leg) too and despite that she’s

just raring to go. She’s a sparkplug in the middle.”

The Sea Kings, playing without Elisha Morgan and Allison Harvey, took

a 2-0 lead at halftime on goals from Paige Janes and Shepherdson, but CdM

Coach Ron Evans wasn’t taking any chances. He wanted more from the Sea

Kings’ defense in the second half.

“In the first half, St. Lucy’s didn’t score at all, but I felt that

defensively we had a 2-0 lead and I felt that we were allowing them

opportunities to possibly get back in,” Evans said. “They didn’t have any

really good ones, but still it was a little bit of a concern.”

Evans’ worries were washed away early in the second, when Shepherdson

scored on a header and added a goal minutes later to secure the victory

for the Sea Kings (6-2-3).

“I know we were up 2-0, but it’s not too good of a lead and I thought

we needed to keep playing the way we were and finishing opportunities,”

Shepherdson said. “I think we pulled together and played really well. I

just wanted to have a good game and wanted to be the playmaker out there

and help everyone out.”

One person on the field in particular was especially appreciative of

Shepherdson’s effort. Goalkeeper Rachel Waters was glad Shepherdson

stepped up to give the Sea Kings a four-goal lead. Waters was not

challenged often, but made five saves to earn her eighth shutout.

“I thought (the Regents) were going to be better than they were but I

guess I was wrong and we came out stronger,” Waters said. “I had a good

warmup and came out and wanted to save goals.”

Shepherdson’s goals in the second half gave the Sea Kings a

comfortable cushion and put Waters at ease in the net.

“I was a little nervous because St. Lucy’s had a lot of shots in the

first couple minutes and I didn’t want it to be the same in the second

half,” Waters said. “But we came out strong and we scored two more goals

so I was happy.”

St. Lucy’s (6-3-2) took 11 shots on goal while Corona del Mar piled up

18 shots on goal.

St. Lucy’s made it to the CIF Southern Section Division III final last

season, but was defeated, 2-0, by Santa Margarita.

“They are a good team,” Evans said. “They were in the CIF finals last

year, so when we come in and get a 4-0 result, it’s a good result for

us.”