Southern Section Girls’ Soccer : Division II Championship

Site--Cerritos Gahr High

When--8 tonight

El Modena (22-5-2)--Starters: Kelly Kersch, Jr., goalkeeper; Aja Cordova, Sr., sweeper, third-team All-Southern Section Division II selection last season; Chrissy Garcia, Jr., defender; Allison Lubke, Sr., defender; Karine Abrahams, So., defender; Jill Pearson, Jr., midfielder; Stephanie Esparza, Sr., midfielder, second-team all-league selection last season; Jessica Dahlberg, So., midfielder, second-team all-league selection last season; Nicole Bandel, Jr., defender; Kaylee Whitfield, Sr., forward, 33 goals, all-county and all-section Division II selection last season; Nicole Terry, Sr., forward, 32 goals, the league’s most valuable player last season.

Canyon (16-6-2)--Starters: Heather Williams, So., goalkeeper, 0.61 goals-against average; Catherine Rudat, Sr., defender; Meghan O’Neil, Fr., defender; Heather Reynolds, So., defender; A.J. Kula, Sr., midfielder, eight goals, six assists, third-team All-Southern Section Division II selection last season; Teri Himes, Sr., midfielder, first-team all-league selection last season; Amber Glende, Jr., midfielder; Kristen Thompson, Jr., midfielder, 10 goals, six assists; Michelle Bannister, So., forward, 13 goals, 11 assists; Rachelle Locke, So., forward, 14 goals, four assists; Stacie Lopez, So., forward, seven goals, five assists.

Keys to the game--With two league rivals playing for a Southern Section championship, the game should be highly charged. El Modena and Canyon have battled each other for the Century League title the past five seasons, with the Vanguards edging the Comanches for the past three championships. In 1993, Canyon won the league title and also advanced to the Southern Section Division II final, where it lost to Arcadia, 2-1. El Modena is making its first appearance in a final. “This is great for the Century League,” said Canyon Coach Matt Kinney. “We’re a little, Podunk league in north Orange County that no one pays attention to, but we’ve got some great athletes too.” Both El Modena and Canyon are notorious for their ability to score. Kinney said his objective is to “score more goals than them and pray.” El Modena has scored 99 goals in 29 games this season and Canyon has scored 78 in 24. Canyon has given up only one goal in the playoffs, and El Modena has given up eight.