Rivalry Renewed

By STEVE GALLUZZO  |  Sports Editor

When Christian Chambers took over the Palisades High girls soccer program eight years ago his goal was to turn the Dolphins into a perennial City Section power. One way he has done so is by scheduling tough opponents like 14-time City champion El Camino Real.

In fact, the very first game he coached for the Dolphins was versus the Royals (formerly called the Conquistadores). That 6-0 setback remains the most lopsided loss the Dolphins have suffered in Chambers’ tenure and of the 100+ wins he has racked up since then maybe the most satisfying was a 2-1 triumph over El Camino Real two years ago at Stadium by the Sea that earned Palisades the No. 2 seed in the Division I playoffs (the Dolphins wound up losing in a shootout in the finals to Granada Hills).   

After a one-year hiatus the rivals were back at it Saturday, this time in Woodland Hills, for their annual nonleague clash and the Royals prevailed 2-0 behind first-half goals two minutes apart by Nikki Velasco and Ava Tibor. Goalies Sara Paul and Isabella Andrino each played 40 minutes and combined for the shutout as ECR (8-2-3) improved to 5-1-2 against Palisades since the 2014-15 season (the schools did not meet during the COVID-shortened season last spring when ECR lost to Granada Hills 2-1 in the finals).

“This was a good learning experience and more of a defensive  exercise for us—I think we showed lost of character in the second half,” said Chambers, who was without his best attackers and has had to field different lineups every game, not knowing who will be available from day to day. “We’re missing six starters and two or three of our best bench players.”       

Only several diving saves by Pali High sophomore keeper Jacinda Hevesy-Rodriguez prevented the  score from being more one-sided.

“If you want to win City you’ve got to go through them so I’m glad we got a chance to see them before playoffs. Who knows how many league games will be canceled moving forward, so it’s good to get as many under our belts as as we can.”

Westchester forfeited before the winter break, marking Chambers’ 100th win at Palisades and he added to his total last Thursday with a 3-0 shutout of New West Charter thanks to two goals by Porter and a goal and an assist by Hannah Kalt.

Just as impressive as Chambers’ win total is the low number of losses the team has incurred under his watch. Saturday’s defeat was only the 20th in Chambers’ 127 games as head coach at Palisades.