IRVINE – After a 16-year wait to return to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs – a step up in class from its Division 3 home for nearly the entirety of the school’s girls’ soccer history – Beckman arrived Thursday with a dominant performance befitting a top-seeded team.
The No. 1-seeded Patriots dominated throughout, didn’t allow a goal until it pulled its starting goalkeeper with 10 minutes remaining, and served notice that their arrival to these playoffs may be lengthy. The stellar performance provided a 3-1 victory over Brea Olinda, which was game but no match.
Beckman outshot Brea nearly three to one, unofficially, 28-10. The Patriots had 10 shots on goal to Brea’s five. And most importantly, they’re headed to the next round.
Beckman (8-10-2) came into the game with a losing record overall, but the seeding committee apparently did its homework as Brea – ranked 74 spots higher in the MaxPreps state rankings – fell to 13-7-7.
Beckman will play Saturday at Ayala of Chino Hills, which defeated Buena of Ventura, 3-0.
“I’m real proud of these girls, to see our program come back,” Brea Olinda coach Paul Bottomley said, noting that it was his team’s first playoff appearance in three years. “Beckman is pretty good. There’s a reason why they’re the No. 1 seed in Division 2 and they showed it. Dynamic team, had a really difficult offense, and kept us on our heels.
“They’re a difficult team to shut down, and they have a couple of players (Devenee Ceja and Giselle Looney) that are really difficult to contain.”
Riley O’Brien, who has signed with Cal State Fullerton, staked the Patriots to a 1-0 lead just eight minutes into the match. She scored from about 10 yards following a scrum in front of the goal after a corner kick.
“I do think it would be easier to win and make it to the finals in D3,” said O’Brien, “but I don’t think that’s what we want here at Beckman. We want to be a D2 finalist.
“Hopefully, we’ll keep on winning, and hopefully Beckman will become a more known program. With all the work that my entire class, and all of us, have put into the program, I hope other people notice it because we really do spend a lot of time and effort to get where we are now, and hopefully it will show out in our results.”
Beckman added another goal in the 23rd minute as Caitlyn Chweh scored from close range after a crossing pass from Amaya Steger.
The Patriots took the 2-0 lead into halftime having outshot Brea, 14-5.
With their backs against the wall, the visiting Wildcats had to make something happen to turn the momentum. And though they won the first 10 minutes of the second half, as coaches implored them to do at halftime, they had nothing to show for it.
Beckman added to its lead when Ceja made a run after Looney’s pass, scoring from 15 yards in the 67th minute.
Patriots goalkeeper Mylee Turner was pulled with 10 minutes remaining, and Brea finally avoided the shutout when Mia Sims scored off Julianne Zavala’s assist. Sims found the net from 20 yards on the right wing.
Beckman played a tough schedule during the regular season, and though it didn’t have a gaudy win-loss record, it did gain the experience to meet the moment and rise to the occasion.
“I set challenges for us in preseason for this reason, for us to feel the pressure and know what it’s going to take to go up, go down, come back, whatever the game calls for,” said Kennedy Heywood, Beckman’s third-year head coach. “It’s important for us to feel those challenges so that when we’re in big moments like this, we know how to work with it. So I’m feeling good about what we can accomplish in these playoffs, for sure.”