February 2, 2026

Written by Dave Smith

CORONA:  The Lady Wolves traveled to Centennial to try and build on their resume with the hopes of receiving an at-large bid to the CIF playoffs.  They were looking for a rebound after losing to the Huskies in mid-January.

Scoring started early with senior Jaslynn Lopez finding a loose ball 25 yards out and hitting a brilliant left-footed shot that caught the goalkeeper unprepared to give King a 1-0 lead.

The score stayed tied at halftime and the girls knew they needed to close out the game with intensity. At the 58^th minute mark, Junior Gianinna Barillas took a free kick that found the corner of the goal to make the score 2-0.

Centennial never gave up on their senior night and was able to score a goal in the 75^th minute. The King girls stayed composed and executed the game plan to make the final score 2-1 King. Samantha McWaters said “I am truly proud of the team win against Centennial. The girls all came together, played incredibly strong, and executed the game plan well”

Before the game I reminded the girls that we were playing our 27^th game of the season and that this game would be the most important game they have played so far. They understood how much we needed a win to finish the season strong. It was a bittersweet night as the girls were all wearing blue ribbons in their hair to honor Kevin, a classmate who had tragically passed away. The girls thought he was an incredibly kind person who was loved by many. Some of the girls had written LLK for “Long Live Kevin” on their legs in respect to him. It is the humanity of this team that makes it such a joy to coach. They are all incredible young ladies with great hearts and an abundance of great character.

We have one last game against Roosevelt and then we will wait and see if we get a playoff invite. We have exceeded almost all our team goals for the season. The last goal is to make the playoffs. I feel the girls have earned the right to continue playing based on their performance this year. No matter what happens from this day forward, I am so proud of how the girls played against Centennial and throughout their season.