Hart senior Cameron Smith said the Hawks pride themselves on their set pieces. “We practice set pieces a lot,” Smith said. “That’s what we’re good at.” The defender was the beneficiary of a couple of those in the first half of Thursday’s Foothill League game on the road at Golden Valley, scoring twice. The first […]
Hart senior Cameron Smith said the Hawks pride themselves on their set pieces.
“We practice set pieces a lot,” Smith said. “That’s what we’re good at.”
The defender was the beneficiary of a couple of those in the first half of Thursday’s Foothill League game on the road at Golden Valley, scoring twice.
The first saw Smith in the right place at the right time on a corner kick. After a save from Golden Valley goalkeeper Jose Mancia, the ball bounced around before falling to an unmarked Smith right in front of the net for the first goal of the game.
Smith’s second was more straightforward, but not quite so easy. Senior Bryan Barron delivered a free kick from the right side of the penalty box to the far post, where Smith was able to rise above everyone else and head the ball across goal to put the Hawks up 2-0 just before the half.
The Hawks would go on to win, 3-1, avenging last year’s loss at Golden Valley.
It took a few minutes for the Hawks to find their footing on a cold night at Golden Valley High, but once Smith got his first goal, Hart started to gain control of the game.
“We started off a little rattled,” Smith said. “That’s our first time coming back here from our first loss (last year), but after we settled down and realized we were the better team, we executed.”
Hart (2-1, 2-0) got its third goal from senior Elisha Himsl, who rifled a shot from the top of the box just a few minutes into the second half.
Golden Valley (3-4, 1-1) head coach Stephen Evison said he knew how important it was to go into the break only trailing by one goal. Allowing the second goal, he said, was a big letdown for the Grizzlies after holding off the Hart attack for much of the game up to that point.
“We knew that it was going to be a different level of intensity,” Evison said. “We knew that it was going to be very, very physical … I felt like the game, if it would have been 1-0 at half, it would have been a different second half.”
The Grizzlies eventually got their breakthrough with just under five minutes to play in the game through senior Cesar Renteria, but it was too little, too late.
Hart’s defense was able to snuff out the Grizzlies for the majority of the game. Sophomore defender Aiden Salvador was at the heart of that for Hart, calling out the Golden Valley runners and making sure no holes were left to exploit.
“Even as a freshman, he had that voice,” said Hart head coach Alex Bernal, “but I have demanded him to be a little bit more vocal, and I trust him wholeheartedly to make calls, and he’s done that and it’s crucial, on top of his ability to actually play. Another thing that makes him a great player.”
Senior goalkeeper Marco Gonzalez came up big a few times for Hart. Whether it was rushing out of goal or holding it down, he rarely put a foot wrong and did his job in getting the Hawks close to a second shutout in as many league games.
“One of the most knowledgeable keepers that can really demand a lot from his defense, and then he can just change the tempo like that,” Evison said in praise of the opposing keeper. “You feel like you’re on a roll, you feel like you’re on fire, and all of a sudden, he just takes all the oxygen out of the room. So yeah, hats off to the goalkeeper. I think he does a really good job. It’s gonna be sad to see him go next year, but also very happy to see him go.”
The two teams are set to meet again Jan. 23 at Hart High in a game that Evison is hoping might go a different way after watching his side rattle the Hawks and control the tempo in the opening stages on Thursday.
“I think it’s just gonna be looking at footage, understanding where our mistakes were, where our strengths were and just moving forward and really focusing on that game,” Evison said.
The Foothill League is off on Tuesday as the William S. Hart Union High School District has its finals week.
The action resumes Thursday when Hart hosts Saugus and Golden Valley travels to Canyon.
Here’s what happened in the other Foothill League soccer games on Thursday:
Boys’ soccer
Valencia 3, Castaic 2: The Valencia Vikings picked up their first league win of the year Thursday, 3-2 at home over Castaic.
Nico Hovosapian scored twice for Valencia while Cole Ross had the other goal.
Alexis Silva had both goals for Castaic.
Castaic has the league bye next Thursday while Valencia hosts West Ranch.
West Ranch 1, Saugus 1: No winner could be decided as West Ranch and Saugus battled to a 1-1 draw at Saugus High on Thursday.
Brandon Salazar scored for West Ranch.
Girls’ soccer
Castaic 2, Valencia 0: The Castaic Coyotes are flying to start off the season.
Mackenzie Wiese and Grace Lundin both scored as Castaic beat Valencia at home on Thursday, 2-0, to remain perfect at 3-0 in league play and 4-0 overall.
Valencia is set to travel to West Ranch when league play resumes next Thursday while Castaic has the league bye and will instead host the Cleveland Cavaliers out of Reseda.
Hart 8, Golden Valley 0: In one of the more lopsided results in the early going, Hart took down Golden Valley on Thursday, 8-0.
Hart’s two UC Irvine commits, Mia Rodriguez and Gianna Costello, each recorded hat tricks in Hart’s first home league game of the year. Costello rose above her teammate, scoring five times in the rout.
Hart is set to travel to Saugus next Thursday while Golden Valley has a home matchup against Canyon.
Saugus 2, West Ranch 1: Three teams remain perfect in league play as Saugus held off West Ranch on the road on Thursday, 2-1.
Makenna Blum and London Bane scored for Saugus, while Celeste Ramirez and Makea Leonard recorded the assists in a game that Saugus head coach Kai English said was difficult for the Centurions as West Ranch made it hard for the Wildcats to be broken down.
