The Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division win improved Leland's record to 4-2-2, good enough for fourth place with four games to play, so the Chargers are still in the hunt for a Central Coast Section playoff spot.

Carter picked up her first two goals in the first half for a 2-0 Leland lead at intermission. Jessica Kolte got things going with a nice cross to Carter who controlled the ball and then slipped it past the goalie into the net with a toe poke. Valerie Huffman set up goal No. 2 with a cross that Carter picked up and then cut nicely before blasting in a shot from 18 yards out.

In the second half, Carter picked up right where she had left off. The Chargers played the ball into Jenn Holmdahl who passed the ball ahead to Carter. Carter broke free and met the goalkeeper one-on-one and outmaneuvered her for the score.

It wasn't all Carter, though, as Leland threw up a solid defense that frustrated Prospect all afternoon. Coach John Vasquez singled out Karina Cavanna, Katelyn Tyson, V. Huffman, and Denelle Spencer as having solid defensive efforts.

Earlier in the week, the Chargers were shut out 2-0 by division leading Leigh. The Longhorns scored early and got the Chargers out of their game.

"After they scored, we did not keep our composure," Vasquez said. "We were trying too hard and forcing and rushing our game and not getting the ball movement we usually do."

One bright spot was the play of Spencer, who was in goal for that game. "She made several good saves that kept us in the game," the coach said.

The Chargers were to host second place Santa Teresa (5-1-2) on Jan. 26 and will travel to Piedmont Hills on Jan. 28.

Pioneer (4-0-3) kept its undefeated division mark intact and brought division leader Leigh back a little closer to the pack by handing the Longhorns a 1-0 loss—its first in division play—Friday in the Mustangs only BVAL game last week.

"There were two strong defenses," Pioneer coach Randy Worthington said. "Both teams played well and matched up well."

The tightly contested game was scoreless into the second half until Pioneer finally put the only goal on the board. It came when Lauren West made a nice pass to Bianca Springer, who took two touches and then blasted the ball into the net from 18 yards out.

Right after Pioneer scored, Leigh came storming back, taking the ball deep into Mustang territory. Pioneer goalkeeper Kalia Demarques came out to meet the Longhorn attacker but the ball slid right past her and rolled toward the goal. A heads-up play by backside fullback Kendra Worthington saved the day, though. Worthington came flying in to clear the ball just before it would have crossed the goal line for the save.

"That was the play of the game," the coach said. "That stopped Leigh's momentum and kept them from rallying."

Worthington employed some defensive adjustments for the game and they did the trick. He assigned Jules Setnicker to be the stopper and mark one of Leigh's outstanding forwards and she was on her hip all day long. He also anchored his defense with seniors Amy Cusick, Angelique Roman, and Worthington who never let the Longhorns offense get rolling.

Pioneer is currently in third place in the division and in good position to control its own destiny in its effort to qualify for the CCS playoffs. The Mustangs were to visit Prospect on Jan. 26 and will travel to Santa Teresa (5-1-2)—the team just in front of them in the standings—on Jan. 28.

It's been a long season for Branham (2-5-1) in its first season at the "A" league level in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division. However, the Bruins have been making progress and they picked up their second division win last week with a 4-0 shutout over Prospect.

Jenna Saenz got the assist on the first goal when she hustled after a through ball that went into the Prospect box. She pressured the goalie, creating a loose ball that Aoife Conroy blasted into the net. Saenz was part of the second goal as well. She sent a long through ball to Amanda Drasny who flicked the ball toward the Prospect goal. There was a scramble for the loose ball in front of the goal and Ashley Bay won the ball and poked it in for the score.

The Bruins put up one more goal before the half on a great run by Lauren Jenness. Jenness carried the ball through midfield and deep into Prospect territory where she played it to Nikki Peck, who wasted no time knocking the ball in for the score.

Peck picked up her second goal of the game in the second half on a scramble in front of Prospect's goal. Bay got the assist when she prevented Prospect from clearing a loose ball to keep it alive long enough for Peck to move in and boot in the score.

It was a solid defensive effort by fullback Drasny, midfielder Megan O'Keefe, sweeper Kandace Harmon, and keeper Jessica Whittemore to record the shutout.

It was not such a happy occasion for the Bruins when they went up against Santa Teresa last Friday and suffered a 7-1 loss. The only Branham score came from Jenness on an assist by Drasny.

Branham was to host Piedmont Hills on Jan. 26 and then had its second round bye on Jan. 28.