SPHS Girl’s Soccer | Tigers Shutout La Cañada

Three different South Pasadena High players score in 3-0 victory

PHOTO: Johnathan Khamis | SouthPasadenan.com | Tigers Girls Soccer Varsity players from left to right - Senior, Uma Hornish, Junior Jessica Lat, Senior Noemi Howland, Senior Rainey Tilley and Senior Alyssa (AJ) Bonk.
Three different players put points on the board as South Pasadena High’s girls’ soccer team rolled to a 3-0 victory over La Cañada Thursday afternoon.
With the win, the Tigers improved to 2-0-1 in Rio Hondo League play, 9-2-1 overall on the season.
Uma Hornish, with an assist from Emma Barrera, gave South Pasadena a 1-0 lead at the half while Jenna Noveihed (assist by Hornish) and Barrera tallied goals in the second.
Goalie Noemi Howland made eight saves in the contest for the Tigers.
Hornish found the back of the Spartans’ net four minutes gone in the game, which “set the tone,” said South Pasadena coach Tory Lathrop. “We wanted to play high pressure and keep them in their defensive third as best possible and not allow them to find a rhythm.”
It worked as the Tigers held La Canada to only two shots in the first half, Lathrop crediting senior captain A.J. Bonk for her defensive effort and “great composure and good distribution of the ball to our midfield strikers,” explained Lathrop.
Rainey Tilley, Juanita Diaz and Jessica Lat are the team’s workhorses, according to the Tigers’ coach, saying: “They are constantly creating opportunities for us to go forward from midfield and all three of them work to get back to assist on defense.”
South Pasadena’s second and third goals came less than a minute apart in the second half, putting the Tigers in total control.
Coupled with a strong defense, giving up just four shots on goal over that stretch, the Spartans were no match for the Tigers on this day.
Hornish, running down the sideline before cutting back to beat a defender, found Noveihed, who booted the ball from 20 yards, out of the reach of the Spartans’ goalkeeper, to put South Pasadena up by two.
“Gorgeous goal,” said an enthusiastic Lathrop.
Soon after, Barrera took the ball at midfield, cut through the La Cañada defense to find the net from 15 yards out to put the game away.
“l’m really proud of how the girls played,” said Lathrop. “It was a total team effort from start to finish and a well deserved win. Our seniors really lead from all sides of the field and that’s what I love. They are setting a standard for future Tigers to match and leaving a positive mark in the program history.”
The Tigers’ JV squad tied La Canada 0-0. South Pasadena’s Andrea Zarazua was credited with the shutout. The Tigers are now 1-0-0 in league, 6-0-1 overall on the season.