VARSITY SOCCER ENDS
Both go to CCS, ending good seasons
By Alisa Walsh
It was yet another successful
winter season for VC soccer. Both the girls and boys teams were
able to participate in CCS, the girls ending their season with
an outstanding 4th place finish in league and an overall record
of 11-6-2 and the boys with an impressive 5th place finish and
a record of 5-7-6.
The Lady Warriors, with a number two seed in Division III CCS,
were rewarded with a first round bye. Thus, the quarterfinals
began with a game at their home field in the pouring rain against
10th seeded Santa Catalina. The Warriors fought hard and came
out on top with a well deserved 3-0 victory. Goal scorers included
sophomores Ali Cheadle, and Chanae Jones and junior Jessie Wrye.
Pumped and ready for the semifinals, the girls faced top ranked
Harbor High School from Santa Cruz the following Tuesday night
at Milpitas High.
The game began promptly at 7 PM, and the girls took the field
ready for a battle. Play shifted from team to team all throughout
the game, and both sides had opportunities to score. Thankfully,
junior goalie Tracey Robinson had a few outstanding saves to keep
the score at 0-0. Although both the forwards and the midfielders
had multiple shots during the 80 minutes of regulation play, no
goals were scored, ending the first round in a tie. According
to CCS rules, after the full 80 minutes are played, two 10 minute
mandatory halves are then played. After a short break, the girls
were back on the field, tired but ready to play twenty more minutes.
Alas, no goals were scored yet again and two 5 minute “golden
goal” halves then took place. In these short 10 mintues,
whichever team could score first would win the game. Exhausted,
the ladies again took the field and played excellent offense and
defense, once again allowing no goals. After a full 110 minutes
of soccer, the team to advance to play Scotts Valley High School
in the championship game would be decided on soccer’s worst
fear: penalty kicks. Referring back to last year’s theme
of Believe, coach Jolene Keel encouraged the girls to keep their
heads up no matter what the outcome, they had played an awesome
game. Unfortunately, Harbor scored two of their five shots while
VC scored none, advancing to the CCS championships. Devastated,
the girls soccer team ended their season semifinalists. Senior
captain Lauren Vroom stated, “We had such a great season
together. All of these girls mean so much to me, we’re like
sisters. It’s such a shame that our season had to end like
this. I know we really wanted it.”
Although the girls were not able to defend their CCS title this
year, they had many firsts this season. Never before had a Warriors
team swept West Catholic powerhouse Notre Dame Bellmont and finished
4th in league. VC’s own Chanae Jones finished 6th in league
for goals scored with 8 goals, while Ali Cheadle finished 3rd
in assists with 7. Altogether, the Lady Warriors had 38 goals
for and 15 against, an excellent record for an excellent team.
On the other end of the spectrum, the boys soccer team finished
5th in WCAL with 24 goals for and 28 against. The Warrior men
faced Hillsdale High School on February 16 in San Mateo, and unfortunately
came out with a 3-2 loss. After a few breakdowns, the Knights
were up 2-0 at halftime. Coming back hard, senior Andrew Smith
fearlessly charged the keeper, knocking him to the ground. Taking
advantage of the opportunity, Chris Zambataro finished the shot
and put the Warriors on the board. Soon after, senior Ryan Corry
took a free kick and placed a square ball to the feet of junior
Joey Stryker, who took a rocket shot from twenty yards out into
the back of the net. Score: 2-2. With a glimmer of hope, VC fought
their hardest, as they knew it could be their last. Sadly, with
a mere ten minutes of play left, Hillsdale scored a lucky goal
to advance them to the semifinals. Coach John Basanese stated
after the game, “This kind of thing is never easy to take.
We really believed that we could win this game and go deep into
CCS. The kids gave us what they had today and it just didn’t
work out. In my mind it doesn’t take anything away from
another successful season. We are blessed to get to share the
field with these great kids.” Junior star Jeff Coggan finished
2nd in league with 7 goals scored and 5th in assists with 4 assists.
Senior captain and MVP of the team Garrett Ruiz had a few closing
words saying, “It was a long season, but I will cherish
the memories.”
Altogether, both the girls and boys should be very proud of their
accomplishments during the season. It was a year of many firsts
and lasts, but the memories that were made together will last
a lifetime. Thanks for all the good times, girls. I love you all!
