Title Slips Away from Lady Normans

The Beverly Hills High girls soccer team fell in the second overtime to Culver City Thursday, dropping the Normans from first to second place in the final Ocean League standings.

The host Normans were up 1-0 and on their way to dethroning seven-time league champion Santa Monica when Centaur forward Haylie Pina scored the tying goal in the 70th minute by dribbling through two defenders and striking a shot into the lower left corner of the net.

Then with 7:45 remaining in the second overtime, Culver City's Jennifer Mair converted on a two-on-one break for a goal. The Centaurs' 2-1 win dropped Beverly Hills (16-6-2 overall, 8-2-0 in league) into second place in the final league standings. Santa Monica retained the league title by half a game with a victory over Hawthorne.

"We needed at least a tie to share the championship and we didn't quite get it," Normans head coach Ryan Franks said. "All three [playoff] teams are very good, but the way it panned out, Samo was just a little bit better."

Heading into Thursday's game, Culver City (19-5-1, 7-2-1) was already locked into third place and a playoff berth, but the Centaurs were hungry for a win after their loss to Beverly Hills in the first round of league play.

"We were really pumped up for this game," said Mair, who has 30 goals this season. "We wanted to beat them on their turf and knock them out of first." 

Destiny appeared to be with the Normans in the 33rd minute when Nicole Star sent a free kick into the Culver City penalty area that Ashley Aviram tapped past freshman goalkeeper Danielle Gutierrez, giving Beverly Hills a 1-0 lead. It was Aviram's third in goal in two games.

Norman goalkeeper Ida Trevino was also impressive, making a diving save on a hard shot by Mair from point-blank range moments before the first half ended. 

Implored by Franks at halftime to "give it everything they had for 40 minutes," Beverly Hills nearly doubled its lead on a corner kick early in the second half, but Tylor Fields' header ricocheted off the crossbar.

"We had opportunities late in the first half and early in the second half to make it 2-0, to get that insurance goal, and we just couldn't do it," Franks said. "We had momentum and if we'd gotten one more it would've been the knockout punch."

Beverly Hills' strategy was to key in on Mair and force her to play with her back to the goal, much like the Normans did with Santa Monica star Julia Glanz in the team's last week against the Vikings.

"She's a great player and we did a good job defending her right up until the end," Franks said of Mair. "We just left her uncovered one time too many. Still, I'm really proud of our girls... they left it all on the field tonight."

The outcome put a damper on Senior Night. Before the game, the players and coaches honored the Normans' 12th-graders: Mahshar Zargar, Cassandra Jolton, Michelle Azhdam, Emily Baker, Annie Math, Nia Freeman, Claire Dorfman, Star and Fields.

Despite losing its league finale, Beverly Hills' season isn't over. The Normans have qualified for the Southern Section Division 4 playoffs, which begin next Thursday. The seedings will be announced Monday. 

Boys Soccer

Beverly Hills' boys squad also lost by a 2-1 score to Culver City in Thursday's Ocean league finale. Mariano Gonzalez scored the Normans' only goal off an assist from Elijah Lichtenberg in the first half. 

The Normans (11-11-2, 4-5-1) finished fourth in league, just half a game behind Culver City (5-5-0).  

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