Drained by the heat, humidity, and flickering hope which followed a first round defeat after traveling a long way, the Culver City Girls Under-19 “City Crew” responded to its coach’s plea “to play our game” by winning its next six games and tying West Palm Beach, Fl., for the AYSO National Championship in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Frustrated by the team’s performance in the first half of its second round contest, trailing 1–0 against Santa Ana, Coach Eddie Zetina gave his inspired speech.
“I was near panic because I knew a tie or a loss would greatly jeopardize a run for the championship. I told the team that I was frustrated, because I knew we were capable of playing so much better. The extreme heat was not a valid excuse. We had trained too hard; we had meshed together too well. I thought we were more than good enough to win this tournament, but we needed to believe that. They needed to step up and show how good they were,” Zetina said.
Zetina closed his oration with “I believe this team is destined to be a national champion, but unless you also believe, we will fall short of our goal, and there are no retakes, just this one shot, so it’s all or nothing. Let’s go out there and play our game – let’s do this!”
The Culver City Girls Under-19 “City Crew” responded with a 3-1 win over Santa Ana, 8-0 against Oak Ridge Tennessee, 3-0 against Charlotte North Carolina, and 4-0 against Warren Michigan, pushing Culver into the playoff round.
“City Crew” blanked Hawaii, 3-0, in the quarterfinals in 108 degree heat, and edged Downey, 2-1, in the semifinals.
Culver City played West Palm Beach “Okaheelee Heat” to a 1-1 tie in the rematch of the first round game at the University of Tennessee women’s soccer field to share the AYSO crown.
Culver City set the tempo and dictated the pace, dismantling the Heat each time it attempted to attack. Despite a barrage of shots from City Crew, the first half ended scoreless.
The seven games in three and a half days under high heat and humidity was starting to take its toll on the team, according to Zetina. “We had started with one of our forwards not feeling strong enough to play, then a defender was carried off the field at the end of the first quarter with a sprained ankle, and another defender started getting headaches at the end of the half,” said Zetina.
But, Elizabeth Benitez scored off an Abbie Zetina assist to put City Crew in the lead, 1-0, in the fourth quarter.
Midfielder Zetina strung a pinpoint pass diagonally across and between two Florida center defenders which landed a yard in front of Benitez who was closing in from the opposite side. Benitiez met the pass just inside the18-yard box above the penalty mark with a soft touch before placing her shot to the upper right corner of the goal rendering the Florida goal keeper helpless and the net behind her shaking from the impact of the soccer ball as it marked the go ahead goal for the Culver City Crew.
The Heat rebounded with a looping shot from just inside Culver’s half of the field, catching the unsuspecting goalkeeper at the top of the 18-yard box and unable to get back fast enough to stop the ball.
The journey started in late November when the coaches Zetina and Hector Lomeli were informed that the girls U19 division was a lottery pick to compete at the AYSO National Games.
Electing a team of 18 players was challenging because of the wealth of talent in Culver City.
Zetina and Lomelli developed a substitution pattern that would keep the team with fresh legs, balance and composure
“It worked. The girls learned to know what changes to expect and how to adjust on the field,” said Zetina.
Players are Liliana Valverde, Shandell Martínez, Kayla Aparicio, Cassandra García, Vanessa Lomeli, Bianca Ramírez León, Jessica García, Grace West, Jennyfer Vázquez, Dyana Flores, Jesseli Barrera, Brianna Wilson, Jessica Lomeli, Abbie Zetina, Catherine Paris, Elizabeth Benítez, Haley Pina, and Amanda Melchor.
“I give thanks to Regional Commissioner, Laura Love; Assistant Director, Vonda Stone; the dear parents who supported day in and day out; our friends and other significant halves who endured our passion for the beautiful game, our community for being supportive of our soccer programs and the City of Culver City for hosting us year after year,” said Zetina.