Fortunately for the Matadors, Aptos also did not score a goal during the Division I quarterfinal match played during wind and rain Feb. 19 at Alisal High in Salinas.

Unfortunately, though, the Mariners drilled four penalty kicks to Monta Vista's three during a tiebreaker session, earning a semifinal bid for themselves and ending the season for the Matadors.

And what a season it was.

Monta Vista never lost while rolling to the championship in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League's El Camino Division, winning 10 of 12 games and tying the other two. The Matadors racked up an overall record of 16-2-4, while outscoring opponents 67-18.

Then as the No. 5 seed in the 12-team Division I bracket, they put on a virtual clinic in their playoff opener against Andrew Hill, Feb. 16 at home.

Sophomore Emily Rubin scored three goals and an assist, pacing an impressive 8-0 triumph. Three other sophomores--Alex Gatley (two), Erin Hoxsie and Jenny Kute--and freshman Heather Lefevre also drilled goals for the Matadors. Senior Vivian Nguyen, junior Deanna DesCamp, freshman Sarah Trankle and Carolyn Chuang all had assists.

Another impressive season closed when El Camino boys winner Cupertino lost 3-1 to Archbishop Mitty in a Division II first-round contest. The Pioneers' final record during one of their most successful seasons of the last 20 years was 11-7-3.

Senior Yuki Minematsu put the Pioneers ahead 1-0 with a goal at the 25-minute mark of the first half, but Mitty's relentless pressure at the midfield proved to be too much for Cupertino.

Both of Homestead's teams capped successful seasons with playoff appearances.

Homestead's girls, who missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 1998, were back this season. They proved to be a worthy No. 6 seed in Division I by whipping Alisal 4-2 on the road. Michelle Grabau scored one Mustang goal and assisted on two others, and teammate Katie Kimure had a goal and an assist.

Homestead bowed out Feb. 19 to powerful No. 3 seed St. Francis 7-0 at Santa Clara High, finishing the season with an 8-8-4 record.

Homestead's boys, seeded 13th after finishing a strong second to Cupertino in the El Camino Division, gave No. 4 seed Bellarmine all it could handle before yielding a late second-half goal and falling 1-0.

Coach Luis Comesana said the Homestead boys outplayed the host Bells for much of the game. "We were all over those guys," he exclaimed, "and we had a couple of chances to score."

Senior Craig Moberg's header bounced off a goal post early in the first half. Moberg had a breakaway opportunity in the second half, but it ended when he accidentally stepped on the ball.

Meanwhile, Bellarmine couldn't dent Homestead's defense until less than 10 minutes remained in the game. "The team was solid for 80 minutes," Comesana said, "but in the last 10 they were able to catch Dan Gossard, our keeper, off of his line and convert."

Senior midfielders Jason Anthony and Justin Hall and junior "stopper" Matt Nelson were key defenders in front Gossard, who made four saves.

"Anthony was superb at defending and attacking," Comesana praised. "He was all over the field. He was the heart of the team--a great leader!"

Nelson, who won several balls in the air, did a good job clearing the ball away from the Homestead goal, and senior midfielder John Voss was superb at moving the ball ahead to the forwards.

The Homestead boys finished the season with an overall record of 10-7-4.