Varsity loses 2-1 to the St. Francis Lancers in overtime
Two goals by St. Francis High School Lancer junior Lauren Schmidt ended the girls soccer season as well as their goal of winning the Central Coast Section (CCS) championships, on March 3. The girls were stopped short in the semi-final round with a final score of 2-1 and an overall season record of 14-3-4.
The jittery Matadors started off the first half slightly intimidated by the seasoned and confident Lancers. Because the girls were unable to maintain possession of the ball, St. Francis scored its first goal after only 18 minutes of play.
"The first 20 minutes were really frustrating because we just couldn’t connect our passes," junior Sandra Ley said. "But after their goal, we kept going and the plays improved."
Winning most 50-50 balls, MVHS began to control most of the plays.The girls got off three shots — veering wide of the goal.
After six minutes of play in the second half, the Matadors had a scare when a free kick at half field from a Lancer bounced once in the box, skimmed the top of cross bar, and narrowly missed the net.
Junior Zohar Liebermensch and senior Cheryl Kute executed a four pass combination down the left side of the field. Kute set up Liebermensch with a shot from the near corner flag — another great play ending at the hands of the Lancers’ keeper.
With 24 minutes left in the second half, senior Michelle Pao took the ball up the right side of the field, shot, and scored her 19th goal of the season, and the final goal of her MVHS soccer career, tying the score 1-1.
Invigorated, the Matadors picked up the pace and were able to make several more shots on goal, outshooting the Lancers 11-5 in the second half. Still, both teams were unable to make another goal before the whistle blew to indicate overtime play.
The first part of overtime involved two 10-minute halves. The Lancers scored within the first minute due to a Matador defensive malfunction, which allowed the St. Francis to dodge around the slightly dazed girls. For the rest of overtime, the team strived to score but were unable to succeed.
At the end of overtime, the whistle blew to signify the end of Matadors’ season, forcing the girls to wait another year for a chance to regain their title as league champions.
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