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SANTA CLARITA — It was Hart versus Harvard-Westlake in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 girls soccer finals on Friday, but the weather seemed as if it were a team of its own, and it was working against both teams.
Under conditions that caused low visibility as well as slowed and unpredictable ball movement, an experienced Hart team was able to beat the Wolverines, 1-0, for a CIF-SS title at College of the Canyons.
“We can’t control the refs, we can’t control the weather,” coach Brett Croft said. “We can’t control a lot. So, we just had to show up and play.”
Briley Phelps scored the only goal of the game early on in the sixth minute. She received a pass from Alexis Nguyen, then finished it off.
“It’s hard to pass out here because the ball stops, but we got a good combination in the corner,” Phelps said.
Hart (16-3-4) has a senior-laden group this year with plenty of experience in both prep and club soccer, which made it easier for the group to mentally be dialed in during a game that had less than ideal weather conditions.
Croft has been with the team for eight years total and it’s his second year as a head coach. He’s worked with this season’s 15 seniors long enough to predict something big.
“This group, I’ve known about them for many years,” Croft, who was previously an assistant coach. “We’ve been kind of waiting for this year. We knew the year to do it would be with this group.”
Hart didn’t prepare for the weather in a physical sense any differently than they have prepared for their other games this season — only three of which they’ve dropped.
Croft talked to his team about the mental side of the game and what they can control. Ordinarily, Hart constantly moves the ball as a possession-based team.
To still have decent footwork on a playing surface like this is a true skill. pic.twitter.com/fDLZ3MljY1
— Haley Sawyer…
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