SOUTHERN SECTION SOCCER PLAYOFFS : Girls’ Roundup : Foothill Good, Los Alamitos Better

The Foothill High School girls’ soccer team, which had surprised its first two opponents in the Southern Section 3-A playoffs, outplayed favorite Los Alamitos for most of the first half Friday at Foothill--and trailed by two goals.

The Knights threatened for most of the half but squandered several chances to score. Los Alamitos, meanwhile, made the most of its scoring opportunities and shut down Foothill in a scoreless second half to win, 3-1.

“I think the teams are very equal in talent,” said Gary Edmisten, Foothill coach. “We just couldn’t put the ball in the net. Last year was the first time they won the their league. This is the first time they went past their first CIF game. They have nothing to be ashamed of.”

The Knights (12-9-2), who finished second in the Century League, beat Long Beach Millikan in the first round, 3-0, and upset fourth-seeded La Quinta, 2-1.

But Friday the Griffins jumped to a 2-0 lead and stopped several Foothill threats in the first half.

Junior halfback Hollie Kunst scored nine minutes into the game for the Griffins (21-1-4) on a 20-foot chip shot that floated just over the outstretched hands of Foothill goalkeeper Dana Davis.

After the second Griffin goal by forward Meghan Fife, the Knights pulled to within a goal on a penalty kick by forward Amy Baren. With six minutes left in the half, Kunst scored again on an assist by Suzy Tripplet.

Three minutes later, Foothill’s Michelle Pashley had an open shot but it sailed wide. “It should have been 3-2 at the half,” Edmisten said.

“Offensively, we played well (in the first half), but defensively we didn’t get off to a good start,” said Leonard Lopez, Los Alamitos coach. “I’ve got to hand it to them (Foothill). They have a really good forward line. But in the second half we played good defense. They didn’t have any good shots.”

The Griffins advance to the second round to play Alemany, which defeated top-seeded Laguna Hills, 3-0, Friday.