No. 1 seed Pioneer and No. 9 Aragon had battled 79 minutes plus to a scoreless tie with defense dominating the game. With 30 seconds left in regulation and Pioneer pressuring, an Aragon defender took down Bianca Springer just outside the box and Pioneer was awarded a direct penalty kick. That was the opportunity.

Lauren West addressed the ball and blasted a rocket directly at the goalkeeper. The kick was so hard and strong that the keeper was unable to control it and the ball bounced away from her in front of the goal.

On the shot, two Mustangs were running through the play ready to take advantage of any possibilities that might occur. The rebound rolled toward Alysia Ramirez and she quickly booted it into the net.

"The funny thing about that is that we practiced that sort of thing this week in practice on Friday," Pioneer coach Randy Worthington said. "We worked on continuing to follow after the shot." That's the preparation.

By the time the ball was placed at midfield for the kickoff, the whistle blew to end the game and send the Mustangs on to the Division II semifinals. Pioneer was scheduled to take on No. 4 Los Gatos (15-2-6) on Feb. 23 in the semifinal match. The Division II finals are set for Feb. 26 at 10 a.m. at Valley Christian High School.

The Mustangs pride themselves in their strong conditioning and it allowed them to keep the pressure on Aragon throughout the second half. Most of the half was played in Aragon's end of the field with the Mustangs getting several quality shots that were turned away.

While the offense was pressing, the defense was in full force as well. Jules Setnicker shadowed Aragon's top offensive player the entire second half and shut her down. The Pioneer defense was anchored by the back line of seniors Amy Cusick, Kendra Worthington and A.J. Roman.

Leland (7-8-7) was not as fortunate in its CCS Division I quarterfinal match last Saturday, but it was not due to a lack of effort. The No. 8 Chargers lost 1-0 in double overtime to No. 1 Carlmont (19-1-3).

The Chargers had an opportunity to take the lead early, about 15 minutes into the game, when Claire Thompson was fouled in the box and Leland was awarded a penalty kick. Valerie Huffman lined up and ripped a shot that just barely went high over the cross bar.

The plot thickened when Leland lost two key players to injury before the half ended. Goalkeeper Denelle Spencer went down with a mild concussion when she was run over and Ali Sturgeon suffered a broken cheek bone when she went up for a header and met the head of a defender instead of the ball.

These two injuries, added to the fact that the Chargers lost Brittany Ivanco to a broken ankle in the final game of the regular season and several Chargers were playing at less than full speed due to strains and sprains, made the Leland sideline look more like a M.A.S.H. unit than a soccer team.

The Chargers didn't let that get them down or take anything away from their effort. "I am very proud of the girls," coach John Vasquez said. "They stuck it out and played with a lot of heart."

Leland made it to the quarterfinals by virtue of a solid 3-0 win over No. 9 Gilroy (15-5-3) in an opening round game early last week. Leland jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Huffman nailed a penalty kick from 12 yards out.

The Chargers kept the pressure on in the second half and it paid off. Huffman dropped a ball to Morgan Wampler who sent a one touch cross into the box where Evelyn Powery cut inside the defender and knocked in the score for a 2-0 lead.

The final goal came off a corner kick by Huffman, which she placed nicely in front of the box. Stephanie Kato timed her approach perfectly as she came running in to get a foot on the ball and poke it into the net.

Leland finished the regular season in fourth place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division and, with only five seniors on the team, the Chargers are counting on improving on that next year and returning for another CCS playoff visit.