The Pali Blues gave their fans a taste of what they will see this season, defeating the expansion Santa Clarita Blue Heat 3-1 Saturday night at Stadium by the Sea. The Blues looked sharp in their final warm up before opening defense of their W-League title Saturday, June 5, also against Santa Clarita. Japanese international Hikari Nakade scored the first goal in the 36th minute to give the Blues a 1-0 lead, which they kept until halftime. Ali Hawkins scored to make it 2-0 in the second half and then, after Santa Clarita scored to pull within a goal, Janice Cayman notched her second assist to an onrushing Leanne Champ, who one-timed the pass into the net for the final tally. The marquee moment actually took place at halftime when throngs of kids took the field to participate in the Blues’ Guinness World Record attempt for most people juggling soccer balls in a single stadium at one time. Although the record of 627 jugglers was not broken, hundreds of balls were collected after the record attempt and later donated to Los Angeles’ celebrated children and family non-profit Para los Ninos (PNL) and international charity Balls Without Borders. Over 100 PLN kids and families attended.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
