The562’s high school soccer coverage for the 2025-26 season is sponsored by Long Beach Poly soccer alum Kennedy Justin.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
Through one half, Wilson and Millikan’s Moore League girls’ soccer duel felt like a continuation of the second half of their previous matchup to end 2025. The Bruins controlled the half behind sisters Kai and Zoie Fontenot, outshooting the Rams 8–2, but had no goals to show for it.
But the second half had much more in store for the undefeated Rams, who controlled most of the possession while flipping the script to outshoot the Bruins 8–1. One of those chances fell to junior Alexandra “Furby” Rios, who slotted it home for the goal that proved to be the difference in a 1–0 win.
“We had to react,” Millikan coach Tino Nunez said. “Playing against the Fontenot twins, you know they’re going to make a run at some point. At halftime, the message was to come out in the second half and be the aggressor, and I thought we did that. I’m proud of the group for responding in the second half because I think it was a game of two halves.”
Rios has been the Rams’ go-to goal scorer since posting a breakout sophomore season last year and led Millikan’s attack in the second half. She recorded three shots on goal after halftime, including the decisive chance in the 55th minute when she took a through ball from Sarah Thaut before cutting to her right and sending it into the far side of the goal.
“We’ve been working on it at practice so it’s good to see it finally work out,” Rios said. “We came out with the right approach but the wrong intensity in the first half and we needed to change it up in the second half. We changed the intensity in the second and got the goal which changed the game.
It was hard to miss the Fontenot sisters in the first half, as the Miami commits combined for five of Wilson’s eight shots in the first 40 minutes. Zoie had perhaps the Bruins’ best look at goal with a one-on-one opportunity in the 36th minute, but sailed her shot off the crossbar to keep the game scoreless.
Despite managing just those two first-half shots, Millikan had a few opportunities in a half controlled by Wilson, tallying all three of the game’s corner kicks in the period. The Rams nearly broke through before halftime, as Caoimhe Tighe sent a through ball to Alyssa Cabrillo, whose shot went off the mark.
While maintaining possession for the majority of the second half, the Rams also did a good job of keeping the ball away from the Fontenot sisters, who were limited to few opportunities after halftime. Wilson managed just one shot in the second half off a set piece and did not put a shot on goal in the final 40 minutes.
“You just want to contain them—you can never completely eliminate them,” Nunez said of the sisters. “Obviously we wanted to attack in the second half, but your best defense is also your attack. Having the ball and applying pressure kept them off it, and that leads to frustration or forces them to drop deeper. Credit to the girls, my hat’s off to them.”
Wilson’s best chance at an equalizer came in the final 10 minutes, with a pair of set pieces stemming from back-to-back Millikan yellow cards. The Bruins’ best opportunity of the second half came from Zoie Fontenot, who sent a low cross across the face of goal but was unable to connect with a teammate.
“In those final moments, it’s just about doing whatever it takes,” Nunez said. “Furby wanted to drop in, and it’s things like that—players taking ownership and being leaders themselves. She won a couple of headers and cleared a few balls. In that moment, she could have stayed up and waited for the ball, but she showed who she is. She’s a winner, and she did that dirty work just like everyone else.”
The Rams improve to a perfect 7–0 in Moore League play, with both of their matchups against Wilson now behind them. Millikan holds at least a two-game lead in the standings with 21 points and will look ahead to a matchup against Jordan on Thursday, while Wilson will host Compton.
