SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS' PLAYOFFS - GIRLS' SOCCER: T.O. ADVANCES TO SECOND ROUND T.O. 1, POLY 0.

Byline: Lauren Gustus Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS - Even Thousand Oaks' McKenna Mitchell couldn't believe the goal she scored two minutes into the second half.

With a flick of her head, Mitchell sent the ball over the hands of Poly of Riverside goalkeeper Suzanne Torres. The junior midfielder previously had come away with a broken nose after trying a similar move.

``I don't do that too much now,'' Mitchell said. ``It kind of makes me a little nervous.''

It was the only goal for the host Lancers in a 1-0 victory over Poly in a Southern Section Div. II first-round playoff game Saturday afternoon. Natasha Belak-Berger assisted McKenna with a header of her own, off a throw-in by Alison McCartney.

The sequence was remarkably clean on a rainy afternoon when players skidded and struggled to find solid footing on the Lancers' muddy field.

``It wasn't bad in terms of the ball,'' first-year coach Ashley Cooper said. ``But the girls had no lateral movement. Both teams got beat a lot more than they normally would have.''

Thousand Oaks (11-4-7, second in the Marmonte League) tried to keep the ball on the ground to maintain possession, and control of the game. The Lancers strategy worked as they spent more time in their offense half of the field than defending their goal.

``I knew we had better skills,'' Cooper said. ``So we tried to keep it on the ground because that was more effective.''

Thousand Oaks refused to pull the team back on defense in the final minutes and they were nearly rewarded with a second goal when Mitchell hit the crossbar with less than five minutes remaining.

But Poly (16-5-5), the second place team out of the Ivy League, had opportunities of its own late in the game. Thousand Oaks goalkeeper Nicole Ruggieri came out to meet Aubrey Hagerty on a breakaway with seven minutes remaining, and the junior stopped Hagerty's point-blank shot.

``The whole time I knew (Poly) could even it up,'' Ruggieri said.

Mitchell said: ``We have a really strong defense. We have certain players we know can step up and defend against their top players.''

The Lancers have had a breakout season. They defeated Westlake in league play, handing the Warriors their only loss of the year, and with the victory Saturday, advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Last season, the Lancers lost to Canyon of Canyon Country 3-0 in the first round.

``We haven't made it to the second round in awhile,'' Ruggieri said. ``It's a huge accomplishment.''

Canyon is a potential-second round opponent.

``We'll beat them this time for sure,'' Ruggieri said.

Lauren Gustus, [phone]

lauren.gustus(at)dailynews.com