Westlake Takes Care of Chaminade Streak

WEST HILLS —  It was hard to tell which was hurting Sara Leibowitz more Wednesday night, her sprained left ankle or her pride.

The junior goalkeeper, touted as one of the region’s best the last two seasons at La Reina High, transferred to Chaminade this season to become part of its dominant team.

But Wednesday, in her fourth game with the Eagles, Leibowitz was at the fore of a second-half collapse that led to Westlake’s 2-1 upset and ended Chaminade’s 13-game unbeaten streak.

Westlake (2-0), now top-ranked in The Times’ regional poll, was down a goal 11 minutes after halftime but tied the score on a play in which Leibowitz said she failed to communicate with her defenders.

A long ball down the left sideline drew Leibowitz out of her goal area to play the ball with her feet. But because of her injured ankle, the left-footed goalkeeper attempted an awkward pass to a teammate with her right foot.

In the scramble that followed, the ball ricocheted off a Westlake player to the Warriors’ Sara Silverhill, who scored into the open goal.

Westlake seized the lead 16 minutes later when Jenna Wirtz took a pass from Tasha Spangler and beat Leibowitz with a 25-yard shot inside the near post.

A disconsolate Leibowitz, who made two saves, spoke briefly after the game before walking away in the middle of a sentence.

“I had [the ball] in my hand on the first one and I don’t even know what happened,” she said. “On [the second goal] there was heavy traffic in front of me. I fully extended but I couldn’t. . . .”

Coach Mike Evans of Chaminade, who had voiced concern over Leibowitz’s inconsistency, said Westlake’s first goal was a turning point.

“[Leibowitz] could have dribbled back into the box and picked it up but she must have thought we could clear it,” said Evans, whose team had not allowed two goals in a game for nearly two years.

Chaminade (3-1), which falls from the top-ranked team to third, outshot Westlake, 4-1, in the first half and scored in the third minute on Kelly Lavery’s goal that was assisted by Kim Taylor.

In the second half, the Eagles were outshot, 9-0, and completely outplayed.

“At halftime I asked for more and they gave it to me,” said Coach Rick Hansen of Westlake. “We started to dominate at the end of the first half and I think our players knew that.”