Sunny Hills girls soccer tops La Mirada with two big plays in final two minutes

FULLERTON — A clutch goal followed by clutch save, both occurring the game’s final two minutes, were the difference in Sunny Hills’ 1-0 victory over La Mirada in a nonleague girls soccer game Thursday at Sunny Hills High School.

The game was scoreless for 78 minutes when Lucy Lamping scored for the Lancers (4-2) from inside the box off of a cross pass from Rachel Buchi.

Less than a minute later, the Matadores were frantically attacking on the other end of the pitch, when freshman goalkeeper Piper Mercado, who stands about 5-foot tall, jumped high to knock away a shot that appeared to be headed into the net.

Seconds later, the whistle sounded, ending the match.

“I had just come in, and I knew there was only three minutes left,” Lamping said. “And I saw Rachel jumping down the line. I was like, I’ve got to get in the box. I knew she’d get the crossover, and she did, and I was just able to tap it in. It felt great, but then we still had to finish the game.”

When she saw the shot toward the goal, Mercado said she knew it would be the final play of the game.

“I was pretty nervous because I’m pretty short, especially for the position I play,” said Mercado, who was playing in her second varsity game. “I saw it coming towards me and I knew I had to give it everything that’s left in the tank after a full school day, all of the entire game and the last play. I just put my hands up and watched the ball into my hands and knocked it away.”

Mercado credited her defensive line, led by center back Aspen Godbey, for taking away scoring opportunities.

Godbey showed off a strong leg clearing the ball well out of the Lancers side of the field on multiple occasions.

Scoring opportunities were limited for both teams, although the Lancers came close in the second half before the winning goal.

Sunny Hills made cross passes inside the box on two separate sequences and managed to get off shots both times.

But the Lancers attackers were well defended both times forcing the shots to go wide of the goal.

The Matadores, who lost to Sage Hill last season in the CIF-SS Division 4 final, had chances on two corner kicks and the Lancers had chances on three corner kicks, with neither team able to convert.

La Mirada keeper Lilyana Mora, who is also a freshman, made a save on a shot from Lamping minutes before the winning shot.

Mora also stopped a shot from Goodbey earlier in the match.

“It was super, supper exciting,” Lancers coach William Allgeier said. “(La Mirada coach) Dave Christensen is somebody I look up to in terms of how to run a proper program in Orange County. He’s been doing it for the last 25 years. I even told him after the game that we were sorry for having to celebrate like that, but we needed this win as a team and as a program.”