Freshman 'crew' has pushed Oaks Christian girls soccer team back to sectional finals

A gaggle of fresh-faced ninth-graders rarely inspires confidence on the first day of varsity practice.

Erin Zeile wasn’t the only player concerned about her senior year.

“It was kind of scary coming into the season with nine freshmen,” the Pepperdine-bound star said.

But this freshman class has proven to be far from ordinary, even for the Oaks Christian School girls soccer team.

“They were all talented,” Zeile said. “They wouldn’t have made varsity if they weren’t going to show up and play. But they’ve exceeded my expectations of what they were going to be.”

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Powered by the Class of 2025, the Lions have gone 18-1-4, ended the program’s six-year wait for a playoff win and reached the first sectional final since 2015.

In the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 final at Redondo High on Saturday at 4 p.m., Oaks Christian will attempt to deliver the program’s ninth section title, and first in eight years.

“All these freshmen are just as talented as the seniors,” Zeile said. “They have to a lot to learn, but they’ve shown up, especially in these CIF games. They’ve really shown what they can do. I’m just really proud of all of them.”

The Lions have been joined by two other local teams in Saturday’s sectional soccer finals.

The Thacher School girls soccer team (14-1-1) will host Frontier League foe Bishop Diego (12-3-1) in the Division 7 final on Saturday at noon at St. Bonaventure High in Ventura.

The Grace Brethren High boys soccer team will visit top-seeded Los Angeles-Geffen Academy in the Division 7 final Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at UCLA’s Wallis Annenberg Stadium.

While the Oaks Christian girls are playing for their 10th sectional title, these finals are new ground for the Thacher girls and Grace Brethren boys.

Oaks Christian has been led by senior attacker Zeile, who will play fullback next season at Pepperdine, senior midfielder Yzi Melgoza and junior midfielder Berkeley Mape.

Sophomores Sarah Spears and Abby Seawright, the whole of last year’s freshman class, are foundational pieces up front and at the back, respectively.

The rest of the field is full of freshmen.

“It’s troubling at times,” Mape said laughing. “They have a lot of energy. They’re all best friends.”

They are “the crew,” as freshman fullback Scarlette Druian dubbed them Friday morning after training.”

“They’re just kind of confident,” Mape said. “They believe in themselves. I think that’s why we’re doing so well.”

The group includes goalkeepers Hannah Wieler and Azaira Chacon, defenders Druian and Isa Wieder, midfielders Ellie Korman, Claire Little and Alyssa Assouad, and attacking starlets Avery Oder and Charlotte Ward.

Six, the majority of a starting 11, usually start. Sometimes that number has been seven.

There have been times during the long season that circumstances dictated head coach Sebastian Alvarado starting a lineup consisting solely of freshmen and sophomores.

“There’s a lot of talent,” Melgoza said. “A lot of room to grow.”

Many of them have produced at the biggest moments during the postseason run.

Wieler, the starting goalkeeper, has conceded just one goal in the four playoff games.

Ward, the daughter of longtime Pepperdine women’s soccer head coach Tim Ward, converted the decisive penalty kick in the shootout at West Ranch in the second round and scored the match-winning goal in the quarterfinal against Redlands-Citrus Valley.

That goal was created by Oder, who was called into a United States Under-15 youth national team training camp last month.

“Avery is so talented,” Zeile said. “Her skill work is on another level. … She’s just a team player. I’m excited to see where she goes honestly.”

And, of course, there’s Wieder, the heroine of the Lions’ late, come-from-behind semifinal win at Rancho Cucamonga-Los Osos on Wednesday.

The freshman defender scored the equalizer in the final minutes of regulation — smashing home the rebound of Oder’s free kick, which was headed on goal by Spears — and then provided the winning goal from the penalty spot in overtime.

“I would never had thought in a million years that I would be the one,” Wieder said.

No matter the result against 17-1 Redondo on Saturday, the Lions seem positioned for four years of postseason runs.

“This is just the start,” Spears said.

Joe Curley covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage of local high school sports, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Freshman "crew" has Oaks Christian girls soccer on brink of CIF-SS title