Oak Park and Agoura boys and girls soccer teams split third annual Kanan Cup

OAK PARK — Agoura and Oak Park high schools sit less than three miles apart and have formed a good, old-fashioned crosstown rivalry.

While the two teams have played against each other for many years, the Kanan Cup boys and girls soccer doubleheader is only in its third year. The Eagles have had the upper hand in the series, but Friday the Eagles and Chargers split the two games.

The Agoura girls soccer team got its first win, 2-0, in the Kanan Cup, and Oak Park boys team secured its third win in a row, 5-1.

In the girls game:

The two goals for the Chargers were scored by freshman Riley Greenwood and senior Gabriella Jensen.

“This game is a great way to see how far we’ve come,” said Chargers girls soccer coach Kai Werring. “It’s another exciting way to make preseason more exciting and more at stake, so the girls and fans get a bit more hyped up. It’s a great way to prepare for the season.”

The Eagles (1-1-0) are coming off a season where they made it the Division 3 semifinals in the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

The rivalry runs deep between the Chargers and Eagles.

“It’s a huge deal for us,” said Eagles girls soccer assistant coach Rene Garcia. “The players we have and the players we are missing, come up knowing that the lights are on for the Kanan Cup. It teaches us we have things to build on. We take the positives and build off of them. It’s the closest thing we can get to a playoff game this early on.”

Jensen has been a part of the Kanan Cup rivalry for the past three seasons and finally got her first win in her senior year.

“Coming back this year for my senior game meant so much to win,” said Jensen. “It’s a great way to start our season and a great high. If we can keep that momentum going for the season if we play like that.”

In the boys game:

The Eagles scored their first goal in the first eight minutes of the match.

After that, the Eagles dominated the rest of the way and got their third consecutive win in the Kanan Cup.

For Eagles boys soccer head coach Brandon Heidt, the win was a good indicator early in the season.

“For us, this is an early test with a good local rival,” said Heidt. “Coach Jaime (Alvarado Jr.) runs a good program over at Agoura. I think it’s great for the community and I’m very grateful and honored to be coaching these boys at Oak Park. Hopefully this will continue on for many years. It sets the tone for the rest of the season.”

Jerry Shiffman scored the lone Chargers goal 17 minutes into the second half.

Alvarado is still searching for his first Kanan Cup win. But the learning experience from the game was enough to keep Alvarado excited to compete in the match every year.

“It’s a crosstown rivalry and everyone gets up for it,” said Alvarado. “It’s an incredible tradition that we started. We’re looking forward to every year for it being one of the first games and it’s always a high-caliber game. Brandon is such a good coach and he gets his team amped for every game. I’m just blessed we can put this on for the community and everyone can come out and watch, being just a few miles apart.”

Shalev Shemesh scored one goal. Rastin Houshmand and Miles Johnson each scored two goals for the Eagles.

Ezra Nagy, Noah Zweig and Todd Norton each recorded an assist.

“It’s always a competitive environment,” said Johnson. “The games are fun and it also feels a bit personal, so it’s really nice to play and experience these games. It’s one of our goals to win this game so it becomes a catalyst to go on and win out.”