The Palisades High School girls soccer team advanced to the semifinals in the Los Angeles City Section Division 1 playoffs by beating Cleveland, 1-0, on Feb. 23.
“It was just what we expected,” said Pali head coach Christian Chambers, “a tight defensive match.”
In the first half, Cleveland could advance past the halfway line only a few times, while Palisades was constantly threatening, taking shot after shot.
On a long throw-in from freshman Margot Reemtsen, sophomore Daniela Flores found the back of the net at the 32-minute mark to score the winning goal.
Chambers said his girls had some “nervous energy,” some of them recalling last year’s upset loss to San Pedro in the quarterfinals. “It was a big thing to get through this round. We were a bit nervous about what happened before.”
He moved some JV girls up for the playoffs. “It was good,” Chambers said, noting he subbed players in and out. “They gave a good account of themselves.” He was pleased with the way his team played and its depth.
Pali goalies Katie Wilkes and Kat Nuckols, who each played a half, are talented seniors and stopped everything that came near the net.
On Feb. 28, second-seeded Palisades hosts Granada Hills, which defeated San Pedro, 2-1. The Highlanders’ season record was 13-8-2, while the Dolphins were 15-1-2.
Meanwhile, top-seeded El Camino played Taft in the other semifinal game. The cham- pionship match will be played at 4:30 p.m. on March 4 at L.A. Valley College.
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