January 6, 2026

Written by Dave Smith

CORONA: Samantha McWatters was beside herself after the girls soccer team, which has been on a tear prior to league (13-3-3), notched their first win of the Big 8 campaign, defeating Corona, 4-1.  She said, “The team came out strong to secure our first league win, scoring our first goal within a minute of the game. I am incredibly proud of our performance so far and see great success ahead in our future league games”.

Junior Kayden Wallace ignited the team with a goal within the first minute of the game. She gave a spark to her team as Captain Jordan Akparanta scored 10 minutes into the game and Sophomore Lucy Allen scored at the 27 minute mark.

A Corona score with only a minute left in the half, made it a 3-1 score at halftime. In the second half, Corona’s defense tightened up and in the 63^rd minute, freshman Serena Balhour was able to capitalize on a corner kick to put the rebound in to make the final score, King 4 Corona 1.

Kayden  was our player of the match. Her quick goal inspired her team to aggressively attack the opponent’s goal and helped lead her team to a first half lead.

The girls have already surpassed last year’s win total while also scoring more goals than last season.

After playing 18 games in December, the girls are focused on their ten league games and the opportunity to make the CIF playoffs. They have worked hard on their teamwork and in making adjustments in the game to give them the best chance to win.

Our preseason goal was for 16 wins and 10 shutouts. We are on pace for the wins but need to be mistake free with our defense to get more shutouts. League games always bring out the best in both teams, so there will be no easy games for us the rest of the way. We will need to stay focused on executing the gameplan and continuing to play for each other.