At the end of the week and with three games left to play in league play, Pioneer (6-0-3) was nipping at the heels of division leader, Leigh (7-1-1), only one point out of first place. The Mustangs are hitting on all cylinders as the regular season draws to a close and the Central Coast Section playoffs loom just around the bend.

Early in the week, Pioneer shut out Prospect 4-0 with a balanced offensive attack that saw four different Mustangs put points on the scoreboard and a strong defensive effort that squelched any offensive threats by the Panthers.

Lauren West got things rolling for Pioneer as she has so often done this year. Alysia Ramirez fed the ball in and West, who is known as "rocket" by her teammates, lived up to her name as she launched a missile off her strong leg that streaked to the back corner of the net and gave Pioneer a 1-0 lead. Pioneer took a 2-0 advantage at halftime when Tania Trejo and Jules Setnicker teamed up for score number two. Trejo crossed the ball in to Setnicker who popped it into the net.

The Mustangs continued their offensive force in the second half with a score from the "freshmen connection"--Bianca Springer and Samantha Vega, the only two freshmen on the team. Springer set it up with a nice pass to Vega who blasted a shot in for the score.

The final goal of the day came from some strong off the bench play from reserve players Kira Allen and Perla Torres. Allen was seeing action for the first time this year, having been out all season recovering from a foot injury. Allen had been in the game only a couple of minutes when Torres sent an excellent hard cross her way. Allen simply tapped the ball into the net for the score.

"It was a muddy and slippery field, but our defense held up well," Pioneer coach Randy Worthington said. Part of that solid defense was goalie Kalia Demarques, who saved six shots on goal. Her height advantage and timing were especially key on two of the saves as she went up high to make catches and prevent the goals.

The Mustangs continued with more of the same in a 3-1 win over Santa Teresa last Friday. It was a key win for Pioneer since the two teams went into the contest deadlocked in second place. Once again, defense was prominent in the success of the Mustangs.

"We played defense very well in both halves," Worthington said. "Santa Teresa's only goal was an unusual one--a shot from 40 yards out with only 40 seconds left in the first half."

Worthington indicated that goalkeeper Demarques made several good stops and that sweeper Setnicker and fullback Angelique Roman were solid defensively. Worthington had especially high marks for Roman, who is filling in at a position that she normally does not play due to team injuries.

Pioneer got on the board in the first half when Trejo sent a cross in from outside to Springer who was waiting in front of the goal and quickly popped the ball into the net.

In the second half, Pioneer was awarded a direct penalty kick. West once more lived up to her nickname and sent a "rocket" right through the wall of Santa Teresa defenders into the left corner of the net for a 2-1 lead. West nailed a second goal when Trejo controlled a ball in the corner, moved to the middle and then fed it to West on the outside who blasted a shot into the corner from 20 yards out. Stephanie Righetti also was instrumental, helping to create scoring opportunities.

Pioneer hosted Piedmont Hills on Feb. 2 and closes out regular season division competition, traveling to Branham on Feb. 4 and hosting rival Leland on Feb. 9. The Mustangs need to finish strong and get a little help from someone in order to catch Leigh and realize their quest for a repeat as division champs.

Leland and Pioneer tied for the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division championship a year ago, but the Chargers' hopes of being at the top of the heap again this year are pretty slim. Leland (4-2-4) would need to win their final two games and see a total collapse by both Pioneer (6-0-3) and Leigh (7-1-1). However, the Chargers still have a CCS playoff berth within reach and are keeping that on their radar screen.

A couple of ties last week--1-1 with Piedmont Hills and 0-0 with Santa Teresa--was not what the Chargers were looking for as they come down the home stretch of division play.

Early in the week, Leland took on Santa Teresa and could not find the right combination offensively to get it done. "We had a lot of good chances, but couldn't put it in," Leland coach John Vasquez said. Fortunately for the Chargers, their defense was clicking and saved the day, led by goalkeeper Denelle Spencer, who "had a really good game and made 23 saves."

In the beginning, things didn't look much different when the Chargers went up against Piedmont Hills last Friday night. "We came out flat in the first half, but turned it on in the second half," the coach said. "We finally woke up and had a lot better possessions."

The defense had another outstanding performance and was led by outside defenders Morgan Wampler and Katelyn Tyson, who focussed on Piedmont Hills' exceptionally fast forward and shut her down.

Piedmont grabbed a 1-0 halftime lead and Leland got even in the second half on a goal by Jessica Kolte with Valerie Huffman on the assist. Huffman lofted a corner kick perfectly to the middle of the box where Kolte went high in the air for a header, knocking the ball into the net for 1-1 tie.

Leland had only one division game this week when it hosted Branham on Feb. 2. The Chargers close out division play on Feb. 9, taking on rival Pioneer on the road.

Vasquez and his Chargers will continue their annual family affair on Feb. 5 when they host Live Oak, a team coached by his brother, Tony Vasquez, in a non-league contest. The brothers have carried on this tradition for a number of years and the teams are usually evenly matched. The family "rivalry" took on an unexpected dimension when Leland and Live Oak met last year in the championship game of the CCS Division I playoffs and battled to a 1-1 tie and were declared co-champions.

Branham (2-6-1) continued to struggle through its maiden voyage in the Mt. Hamilton Division, dropping a 1-0 decision to Piedmont Hills last week. The very young Bruins are getting "on the job training" on what it means to play in the everyday tough competition of the "A" league.

Although the Bruins will be staying home for the playoffs, they are in a position to have some say about the final outcome of the division standings. They finish the season with games against three of the top four contenders--Leland (Feb. 2), Pioneer (Feb. 4) and Leigh (Feb. 9).