Dolphin Kicks

Four Palisades High Players Earn All-City Soccer Honors

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

The LA City Section released its All-City soccer squads last Wednesday and among the recipients were four players—two girls and two boys—from Palisades High.

Making the Division I girls team were co-captains Ava Kerkorian and Caroline Bremner. The senior defenders propelled the Dolphins to the City final Feb. 29 at LA Valley College, where they lost in a shootout to Granada Hills after the game was deadlocked 1-1 through regulation and overtime.

Kerkorian, who is headed to Stanford in the fall, tallied 11 goals and 10 assists in 18 games played and her total of 32 points was second-most on the team. Bremner, who has signed with UC Davis, played in 14 games as sweeper, scoring one goal, as the Dolphins finished 17-3 and went 12-0 in the Western League.

Granada Hills senior Cordelia Cross, who finished with 11 goals and five assists (one of them on the Highlanders’ goal in the City final, was named City Player of the Year in Division I.

Rounding out the Division I girls team were forwards Stephanie Cardenas from Granada Hills, Kiara Washington of El Camino Real and Natalia Perez of Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences; midfielders Isis Valdes and Dominique Saxey-Santillo of San Pedro and Haile Carillo-Hayes of Chatsworth; defenders Halle Milewski and Abby Rivas of Granada Hills and Kaitlyn Soderstrom of Taft; and goalkeeper Alana Mexia of Granada Hills.

Smidt Tech senior Jacquelin Martin was named Division II Player of the Year; Wilson senior Maleah Haro and Legacy

freshman Samantha Aguilar were Co-Players of the Year in Division III; Maywood CES senior Lizbeth Sanchez was Player of the Year in Division IV; and East Valley sophomore Anissa Mejia was named Player of the Year in Division V.

Making the Division I boys team were Palisades junior forward Shane Thomas, who led the Dolphins in scoring with 18 goals and six assists in 15 games, and sophomore midfielder Sebastian Rincon, who tallied one goal and five assists in 11 games. The Dolphins went 13-5 and won the Western League under first-year coach Marvin Lemus.

Senior Moises Gutierrez of City champion El Camino Real and Marquez junior Andres Bravo were voted Co-Players of the Year in Division I.

Rounding out the Division I boys team were forwards Luca Thomaseto of El Camino Real and Pascal Despinos of Granada Hills; midfielders Bryan Cornelio of Smidt Tech, Jose Lopez of Taft and Charlie Cazarez of Birmingham; defenders Ivan Farias

and Travis Torres of Marquez and Alex Zamudio of Granada Hills; and goalkeeper Eduardo Enriquez of Marquez.

Poly senior Brian Castillo was named Division II Player of the Year; Hamilton’s Omar Garcia was Division III Player of the Year; and the MVP in Division V was Wilson’s Sergio Martinez.