Can’t buy a thrill

Back-to-back overtime wins catapult Scorps to first place in league



VICTORY FORMATION—Camarillo High girls’ soccer players celebrate forward Aleiyah Schexnayder’s goal during a 2-1 overtime win at Moorpark on Jan. 18. The Scorpions soared to first place in league. Photos by MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

VICTORY FORMATION—Camarillo High girls’ soccer players celebrate forward Aleiyah Schexnayder’s goal during a 2-1 overtime win at Moorpark on Jan. 18. The Scorpions soared to first place in league. Photos by MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

The Scorpions give fans high blood pressure. The team should hand out free pizza and puppies at the gate.

Just call them the Spellbinding Scorpions.

Camarillo High’s girls’ soccer team recently won its second straight Coastal Canyon League match in overtime, toppling defending league champion Moorpark 2-1 on Wednesday on the road. The Scorps survived a 2-1 double-overtime thriller against Oak Park on Jan. 13.

“The intensity, the adrenaline, has really gone up,” said Anneliese Wong, a senior captain and center midfielder, earlier in the week.

Camarillo faces Moorpark, the defending league champs, one more time on senior night in the regular season finale Feb. 1 at the friendly confines.

Buckle up.

Head coach Bryan Monka has a simple message for his squad.

“Stay focused,” he said. “We’ve done well in the first half of league. It’s easy to think you’re going to win all those league games again. Our league is competitive. Anything can happen.

FLIGHT OF THE SCORPIONS—Camarillo’s Aleiyah Schexnayder dribbles the ball down the pitch against Moorpark on Wednesday.

FLIGHT OF THE SCORPIONS—Camarillo’s Aleiyah Schexnayder dribbles the ball down the pitch against Moorpark on Wednesday.

“If we focus and work really hard and stay unified together, we’ll be successful.”

The first-place Scorpions (7-3 overall record, 4-0 in the Coastal Canyon) feature 14 seniors and a talented lineup that isn’t afraid to shuffle around the field, like the human chess pieces in Mel Brooks’ “History of the World, Part I.”

Amaya Espardinez, another senior captain, starts but doesn’t have a consistent position. She even switches positions in the middle of matches. She’s played everywhere except goalkeeper.

“Basically, I play all over,” Espardinez said. “I’ve always been someone who plays all over the field. I roll with it. It’s fun.”

Espardinez, a 4.3 GPA scholar athlete who verbally committed to play soccer and study marine biology at UC Santa Cruz, has been savoring Camarillo’s season but knows there’s a long way to go.

“Our team is very strong,” she said. “We’re keeping a positive attitude. We’re going to play all these teams over again. We can’t let our guard down.”

Espardinez, who attends Rancho Campana, is active in the Kiwins service club and RC Makes internship; she and Wong are co-lead interns in RC Makes. The friends also enjoy paddleboarding in the ocean together.

Wong, a 4.41 GPA scholar athlete who also attends Rancho Campana, helped the Scorpions win their last league title during her freshman year. She says the team has fun but plays with urgency.

“This group this year has been awesome,” Wong said. “The girls on this team are amazing. I love playing with them. We have a lot of great talent on this team and a lot of potential. I believe we can go a long way, too.”

Wong is a sprinter, hurdler and pole vaulter for the defending league champion track and field squad. In November, she signed a scholarship to play soccer at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, where she will also be a health sciences: public health major.

She enjoyed playing with her older cousin Sela Laudato for one season at Camarillo, and said her cousin Mia Laudato, another former Scorpion, helped Wong during her soccer journey. She also thanked her parents.

“My parents have sacrificed so much for me, being on a club team and traveling every weekend,” Wong said. “I’m very thankful for that.”

Elizabeth Mika, a senior left center back and third-year varsity standout, is also a captain.

Monka spoke highly of Mika.

“She has the personality of a leader. She is very serious about what needs to get done when we’re on the field,” the coach said of Mika. “She’s a true leader on that field.”

Mika said she’s matured into her role.

“I’m definitely more of a team player. I used to be so selfish on the ball,” she said. “Now, I’m playing with girls who are here to have fun and help each other out. I’ve become more of a team player and a better leader overall.”

She wants to graduate with a league crown.

“We could have won it two years ago. We could have won it last year. We’ve come so close,” Mika said. “On this team, every single person wants to win league. That makes a huge difference in effort on the field. Going out winning league my senior year would be so amazing.”

Mika, a 4.1 GPA scholar athlete, is considering playing soccer in college. Her brother Frank, a 2020 Camarillo grad, played soccer with the Scorpions and is currently seeking to become an officer in the U.S. Marines. Their father, Frank, served four years in the Marines as a sergeant canine handler.

Cassidy Epstein, a junior central defender, is a second-year starter on the back row who has improved at distributing and reading the field.

“She’s been excellent, steady in the back,” Monka said of the junior.

Alyssa Schnopp, a junior, and Alina Miller, a freshman, complement Epstein on defense.

Kaylie Clem, a senior outside back/forward, is an athletic player with a positive attitude.

“Her speed is like world class,” the coach said of Clem. “She’ the fastest person on our team.”

Shenoah Rueckert is a consistent senior midfielder. Lauren Mitra is a talented junior midfielder. Courtney Hogan, a freshman midfielder, has a bright future at Camarillo. Catalina Anguita is a senior midfielder and varsity newcomer.

Tiana Stouch and Aleiyah Schexnayder are junior forwards. Schexnayder also plays defense.

Jessie Heybl and Makenna Gout, both juniors, share time at goalkeeper. Heybl generally starts matches and Gout finishes them.

Caelyn Jurado, Maddie Dickey, Brianna Ellis, Leilani Arroyo, Karla Maruffo, Sally Mc- Cormick, Sierra Whalen, Ava Rutherford, Gabrielle Hoyle and Esmeralda Sandoval contribute for Camarillo.

Brianna Key, Monka’s sister, is a varsity assistant who played at Oregon State and later earned the Big West Conference Midfielder of the Year award at Cal State Northridge. Alfonso Rodriguez, the junior varsity coach, played pro soccer in Sweden for Malmö FF. Frosh-soph coach Alie Contreras played soccer at UC San Diego. Monka, a Rio Mesa grad, played for the mighty UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and professionally with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the United Soccer League.

“It doesn’t matter who’s playing, it doesn’t matter who’s subbing in—everyone keeps such a positive attitude,” Mika said. “Coach Bryan and Coach Key, they definitely don’t mess around with effort. They always want us to put our best foot forward. Sometimes it takes hard changes, and sometimes it takes being hard on us at practice. We can all appreciate being pushed to that level for soccer.

“When you have coaches who push you, it makes us better players—and I think we all can appreciate that.”

Find sports editor Eliav Appelbaum on Twitter @EliavAppelbaum.

IN A NUTSHELL

Camarillo High’s girls’ soccer team surged to first place in the Coastal Canyon League after defeating fellow juggernaut Moorpark 2-1 in overtime on Jan. 18.

Fourteen seniors—including captains Anneliese Wong, Amaya Espardinez and Elizabeth Mika—bolster the Scorpions’ varsity roster.

Caelyn Jurado, Maddie Dickey, Catalina Anguita, Leilani Arroyo, Karla Maruffo, Shenoah Rueckert, Sally McCormick, Kaylie Clem, Sierra Whalen, Ava Rutherford and Gabrielle Hoyle are the other Camarillo seniors.