HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER PLAYOFF PREVIEWS : Chatsworth Girls Shooting for 4th City Section Title

The girls’ soccer rivalry between Chatsworth and Granada Hills highs, born in the back yards of the Valley, resumes today with more at stake than usual.

Chatsworth will be seeking its fourth consecutive City Section title today when it squares off against Granada Hills at noon at Birmingham High.

“A lot of the players on the teams know each other real well,” first-year Granada Hills Coach John Robb said. “They’ve played together and against each other. I think they’re real excited.”

During the season, Chatsworth (11-2-4) defeated Granada Hills, 1-0, at home, and the teams tied, 2-2, at Granada Hills.

The leading scorers for Granada Hills (9-2-3) are junior Kim Pikor (18 goals, three assists) and senior co-captain Kasey Miller (12 goals, four assists).

Robb thinks Granada Hills’ senior goalie, Shannon Henry, rates among the most talented players in the area.

Chatsworth’s junior goalie, Kim Kuhn, the daughter of Chancellor Coach John Kuhn, has six shutouts this season. Mary Oades, a junior who scored all of her team’s goals last year in a 6-1 City title-game victory over San Pedro, has returned after knee surgery sidelined her for the regular season.

SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS

Today’s 10 a.m. girls’ soccer matchup at Gahr High in Cerritos between top-seeded Pasadena Poly High and No. 2 Harvard-Westlake features teams with differing offensive attacks playing for the Southern Section 1-A Division championship.

Pasadena Poly (19-2-3), the defending 1-A champion, has a balanced scoring attack; five players have scored 10 or more goals.

Harvard-Westlake (14-0-4), the Sunshine League champion, beat Pasadena Poly, 3-2, in the El Segundo tournament.

Junior midfielder Alyse Lowen, a member of the U. S. Junior National team, leads the Wolverines with a school-record 28 goals.

Senior goalie Cari Schwartz recorded 100 saves in 16 regular-season games. Freshman Stacy Schwartz, Cari’s sister, scored nine goals during the regular season, and senior Liz Daniels had five.

Staff writer Paige A. Leech contributed to this story.