Doubted from day one, the Los Altos High girls soccer team may have been the biggest surprise in the Central Coast Section this year. Coming off a winless season, the Eagles not only made the playoffs – they beat three higher-seeded teams and claimed the CCS Division I title Saturday.
After playing No. 2 Santa Cruz to a scoreless tie through regulation and two 10-minute overtimes, fifth-seeded Los Altos prevailed 7-6 on penalty kicks.
New coach Zanin Mahic wasn’t all that surprised by the success of his Eagles (14-6-3), who were determined to prove the doubters wrong.
“During tryouts, I told the girls that they were projected to finish fifth or sixth place (in league), and that didn’t sit well with them,” he said, “so they took matters into their own hands.”
Los Altos placed second to undefeated Mountain View in the SCVAL De Anza Division, then won three road games to earn its first CCS crown in nine years. The Eagles – in the playoffs for the first time in three years – outscored No. 4 Notre Dame-Belmont 7-4 in the quarterfinals and stunned top-seeded Carlmont 3-1 in the semifinals before taking down Santa Cruz on Sophia Kurisu’s PK.
Shutting out Santa Cruz (15-1-1) took “a collective team effort,” Mahic said, “but a couple of players really stood out.” He called Jessica Anderson “our rock in the back” and added that freshman goalie Tyra Bogan “was also phenomenal,” making three one-versus-one saves in the first half.
Los Altos has qualified for the Northern California playoffs as the No. 3 seed in Division III. The Eagles host No. 6 Campolindo (13-3-4) at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 1. The winner faces No. 2 Chico (17-4-1) or No. 7 Lincoln (18-8) 5 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals at the higher seed’s home.
MV boys fall in semis
After winning its CCS opener on penalty kicks, the Mountain View High boys soccer team lost in the next round on PKs.
The host Spartans – tied with Menlo-Atherton at 1 after regulation and two 10-minute overtimes – fell 4-3 on PKs in the Division II semifinals Feb. 23.
“Rough way to go out, but we had a great year,” Mountain View coach Jim McGuirk said.
Second-seed Mountain View fell behind early to the No. 6 Bears, but the Spartans tied the game just before halftime on a goal from Eduardo Caballero.
The Spartans (12-5-4) “controlled the game” for most of the second half and overtime, McGuirk said, “but we just couldn’t get one in.”
Lancers move on
St. Francis (15-6-1) has landed the third seed in the Northern California Division II playoffs. The Lancers open at home against No. 6 Montgomery (15-3-5) at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The winner faces No. 2 Richmond (17-3-1) or No. 7 Archie Williams (14-3-5) in Thursday’s 5 p.m. semifinal at the home of the higher seed.
St. Francis reached the semis of the CCS Open Division playoffs last week, losing 1-0 to eventual champ Watsonville Feb. 22. The Lancers were seeded third and Watsonville (16-4-1) was No. 2.
