LONG BEACH — Foothill’s knack for eking out victories in the girls soccer playoffs continued in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 championship game Saturday.
Taylor Bryant’s header into the net in the 38th minute held up through a nerve-wracking second half for the Knights, who captured their first Southern Section soccer championship with a 1-0 victory over Long Beach Poly at Veterans Stadium.
Foothill players hug sophomore Taylor Bryant, center, after her first half goal propelled the Knights to a 1-0 win over Long Beach Poly on Saturday, Mar. 1, 2025, in the CIF-SS Division 3 girls final at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Foothill senior goalkeeper Jenna Sanchez makes a diving first half save and helped lead the Knights to a 1-0 win over Long Beach Poly on Saturday, Mar. 1, 2025, in the CIF-SS Division 3 girls final at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Foothill’s Hannah Werdel, left, and Long Beach Poly’s Leah Salas battle for a ball on Saturday, Mar. 1, 2025, in the CIF-SS Division 3 girls final at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Foothill’s Kaitlin Fortes chases a ball on Saturday, Mar. 1, 2025, in the CIF-SS Division 3 girls final against Long Beach Poly at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Foothill players celebrate after defeating Long Beach Poly 1-0 on Saturday, Mar. 1, 2025, in the CIF-SS Division 3 girls final at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Foothill players and head coach Steve Patterson, right, celebrate with the championship plaque after defeating Long Beach Poly 1-0 on Saturday, Mar. 1, 2025, in the CIF-SS Division 3 girls final at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Lily Montecinos, left, beats Foothill’s Vanessa Paredes to a loose ball on Saturday, Mar. 1, 2025, in the CIF-SS Division 3 girls final at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
A pass goes under the leg of Long Beach Poly’s Joanna Rodriguez on Saturday, Mar. 1, 2025, in the CIF-SS Division 3 girls final against Foothill at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Foothill players and head coach Steve Patterson, right, celebrate with the championship plaque after defeating Long Beach Poly 1-0 on Saturday, Mar. 1, 2025, in the CIF-SS Division 3 girls final at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly principal Alejandro Vega, left, and head coach Angel Zavala hold their finalist plaque following a 1-0 loss to Foothill on Saturday, Mar. 1, 2025, in the CIF-SS Division 3 girls soccer final at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Show Caption1 of 10Foothill players hug sophomore Taylor Bryant, center, after her first half goal propelled the Knights to a 1-0 win over Long Beach Poly on Saturday, Mar. 1, 2025, in the CIF-SS Division 3 girls final at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
ExpandAfter entering the playoffs as the third-place team out of the North Hills League, the Knights (13-7-4) won five straight one-goal games to become champions. They defeated Walnut 1-0 (first round), Grand Terrace 2-1 (second round), Crean Lutheran 2-1 in overtime (quarterfinals) and reached the finals with a 4-3 overtime victory over Portola (semifinals).
Foothill had never advanced passed the semifinal round, Knights coach Steve Patterson said.
The lone goal came when Arllene Vite beat her defender, cut toward the goal and then headed a cross pass over to Bryant, who headed the ball into the goal, just over the head of the Jackrabbits keeper.
The keeper did get her hands on the ball but couldn’t stop it from landing past the goal line.
“It feels great,” Bryant said. “I thought we were going to get a lot more (goals), but I’m really grateful that I was able to bring it home for my team. We were definitely the underdogs that everyone thought weren’t going to pull through, but we definitely pulled through.”
In the first half, the Knights did an exceptional job of moving the ball around and maintaining control with lots of short passes.
“That’s our style,” Patterson said. “We like to keep a lot of possessions. We move the ball quickly.”
In the second half, it was the Jackrabbits who tried to create opportunities.
But while Long Beach Poly (14-4-1) was trying to keep the action on the Foothill side of the field, the Knights did a good job of disrupting passes and clearing the ball to midfield.
“They are a great team,” Patterson said of Poly. “I think their coach did a good job of trying to just disrupt us and it created some issues, but nothing that was too concerning for us. But the girls did their job. That’s all that matters.”
Foothill goalkeeper Jenna Sanchez was also tested on several occasions.
Early in the match, Sanchez left the goal to cut off the angle of a player driving toward the goal and then made the stop after the shot was made.
In the 67th minute, the Jackrabbits’ Joanna Rodriguez got a good a good look and kicked a bullet toward the goal. But again, Sanchez made the stop.
The Jackrabbits put two more shots on goal over the final three minutes, but they were easy stops for Sanchez.
“At the end of the day, they just persevered,” Patterson said. “They never quit, they never stopped. They kept playing. They fight. And they’re a team. They train well together, and it shows on the field.”
The Knights and Jackrabbits both advance to the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs that begin Tuesday.
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