Over the past decade, Canyon Hills High School has established itself as one of the most dominant field hockeyprograms in San Diego.
How good? The Rattlers have won four CIF San Diego Section Open Division titles in the last decade, first as Serra and then as the rebranded Canyon Hills.
On Saturday afternoon, the storied program added yet another title to its collection, winning the 48th annual Laurie Berger Invitational championship by defeating undefeated Huntington Beach Edison 1-0.
The program, which hosts the Berger tournament every year, has won it twice in the last three years.
“After having a tough week, with losses against La Jolla and Bishops, it was great that we were able to come away with a win. It’s a confidence booster for us,” Canyon Hills coach Kat Keivens said. “I told the girls, this is our tournament, go bring the trophy home for us.”
Canyon Hills controlled the attacking third for the majority of the first half, with Rylie Storm and Alina Aldana logging shots on goal in the first 10 minutes of action.
The Rattlers’ midfielders did well to connect their attack with effective long balls to the middle of the field.
The constant pressure soon paid off. Eva Allen opened the scoring 15 minutes into the game, burying a goal from seven yards out into the bottom left corner.
Neither team scored after that.
“Eva is a phenomenal athlete, who’s not only great on the field but off the field too,” Keivens said. “She is a great leader, and fires everyone up on this team with her attitude. She controls the middle of the field and does whatever the team needs.”
Canyon Hills’ defense overwhelmed Edison in the second half, holding the Orange County visitors to zero shots on goal.
“We knew we were up one, and wanted to keep it that way,” said Canyon Hills defender Sami Lee. “We wanted to keep them from entering our circle, which had been an issue before. But we were able to double them and have two girls on each player that came down and shut things down.”
The Rattlers imposed their will for the entirety of their tournament title run, outscoring their opponents 12-1over five games.
Their run included shutout victories over San Marcos, Newport Harbor and San Pasqual.
Lee was one of four Rattlers recognized for their individual play Saturday. Allen and Storm were each named to the all-tournament team. Junior Reese Roldan was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
“I feel like this season, this team has a really tight bond, and I think that shows in how we play,” Roldan said. “You can really pass the ball off and have trust in one another to be there.”
La Costa Canyon’s Ella Steele and Annika Evenskaas earned all-tournament honors, as did San Marcos’ EmmaTovar and Kamryn Edman.
Originally Published: September 13, 2025 at 7:11 PM PDT