Shadow Hills defeats Xavier Prep, 4-0, takes step closer to consecutive DEL titles

The Shadow Hills High School girls’ soccer team felt the stress of trying to repeat as Desert Empire League champions with a target on their back. Players understood what was needed to repeat as champions with the uncertainty of a regular season schedule.

But Thursday at home, the Knights took another giant step toward achieving that goal with a decisive 4-0 win over Xavier Prep. It was Shadow Hills’ second big win of the week, and fourth in a row, with two regular season games remaining.

The wins have come following a pair of losses to La Quinta and Palm Desert.

“The message really has been, ‘If you’re a championship team, you have to overcome those obstacles and adversities,’” Knights head coach Tom Woodworth said. “We needed to take care of business one game at a time, and we’ve done that.”

The Knights are now 7-2 in the DEL and in position to claim the league title for the second consecutive season if they finish out the regular season next week with a win over Palm Springs.

Not that it will be an easy task, but on Thursday Woodworth’s squad made it look absolutely possible. The Knights led 3-0 early and coasted in the second half.

Senior striker Taylor Christensen scored twice for Shadow Hills and senior wing Janessa Navarro and freshman Charlii Gonzalez added one apiece. Navarro and senior forward Natalie Hamilton assisted on goals, and sophomore goalkeeper Georgina Rojas secured the shutout with 12 saves.

“We had a rough start,” Christensen said of the losses to La Quinta and Palm Desert. “But we didn’t have the preseason, and it took us a while to get going. We’ve really come a long way from the beginning of the season.”

Ximena Perez (10) celebrates with her teammates Thursday, Jan. 20, 2021 against Xavier Prep at Shadow Hills High School.
Ximena Perez (10) celebrates with her teammates Thursday, Jan. 20, 2021 against Xavier Prep at Shadow Hills High School.

Palm Desert, at 6-2-1, is second in the DEL standings and the fate of its regular season schedule depends on the health of its team and the teams on the Aztecs’ schedule. That DEL schedule has been thrown into a tailspin as several games and the entire third leg of the season were canceled due to COVID-19 cases that hit several teams in the league.

Palm Springs (4-2) is third in the DEL and Xavier Prep (4-5-1) is fourth.

“We’ve now put ourselves in a pretty good position to repeat as league champions,” Woodworth said. “It’s great to see how these girls have responded.”

Another league championship for Shadow Hills would be significant, particularly in a league that was once dominated by La Quinta. The Blackhawks won at least a share of eight consecutive league titles, dating back to the 2012-13 season.

Taylor Christensen jogs along the field Thursday, Jan. 20, 2021 against Xavier Prep at Shadow Hills High School.
Taylor Christensen jogs along the field Thursday, Jan. 20, 2021 against Xavier Prep at Shadow Hills High School.

Though Palm Desert has been a perennial top-two finisher for several years, no squad had broken through to dethrone La Quinta as Shadow Hills did last year, outscoring opponents 52-10 in DEL games.

To repeat as champions after that season, and after some early setbacks this season, would be special for Shadow Hills.

“I’m just proud of the girls on this team,” Christensen said. “We still have to finish strong but I can’t say enough about how hard this team has worked.”

Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA Today Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com and find him on Twitter at @Andrew_L_John.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Shadow Hills soccer defeats Xavier Prep, 4-0, takes step closer to DEL title