The Cupertino Courier
Sports
Matadors reach CCS finals, but lose in OT
By Mike Barnhart
Fourth-year varsity players Jessica Lau, Alex Gatley and Jenny Kute accepted a trophy on behalf of the Monta Vista girls soccer team following the Central Coast Section Division I championship game last Saturday at Valley Christian High in San Jose.
But it was not the trophy that the Matadors had been shooting for.
Many times during the finale against Los Altos, and many more times over the course of the last two seasons, Gatley raced in from various directions to save the day.
But this one could not be kicked away. No sliding blocks, either.
Instead, while holding the second-place award, she forced a smile and said, "It's OK."
It may have been the best play of the day for the Matadors, a display of dignity and class after an overtime loss in a championship game.
After 80 minutes of regulation play and nearly all of a 10-minute overtime, Los Altos junior Emily Langston's goal finally broke a scoreless tie. Then the Eagles' stout defense held on for a second mandatory overtime period and won 1-0.
It was the only shot that got through the Matadors' defense and past goalie Kendra Roseberry during the playoffs.
"I didn't think there would be a lot of goals scored in this game," Kute said, eluding to the teams' two meetings in the regular season, a 1-1 tie and a 2-1 Los Altos win.
"Los Altos is a big team and a good possession team," she added. "It was a big loss for us, when one of our bigger players was injured."
Sophomore Shandon Rovetta, who had provided strong midfield play all season, left the game with a possible concussion in the first half. The Matadors already were playing without senior Emily Rubin, one their top goal scorer. She hurt her knee late in the team's 1-0 semifinal win over Santa Teresa.
Los Altos' final record was 16-1-5, and Monta Vista's was 14-5-4, including playoff victories over Leigh and Santa Teresa.
The win over Leigh was sweet, because the Longhorns had bounced the Matadors from last season's semifinals. It was especially sweet for many of the seniors, who remembered another playoff loss to Leigh during their freshman season in 2004.
"It was amazing; we were so ecstatic," Gatley bubbled, after the Santa Teresa game.
Lau scored the Mats' only goal against Santa Teresa, a penalty kick with about 16 minutes remaining in the game. It was set up by a strong throw-in from freshman Michelle Pao to Lau in the penalty area. While fighting for the ball, a Santa Teresa defender pushed Lau in the back and was whistled for a foul.
Monta Vista had several scoring opportunities turned back by the Saints goalie, Domenica D'Angelo.
The Matadors thwarted a strong scoring chance late in the first half, when freshman Cheryl Kute was able to deflect a Santa Teresa shot just before it reached the front right corner of the goal.
"Four years of hard work and a total team effort brought us to this point," Gatley said following the win over Santa Teresa , which put Monta Vista into its first CCS title game in 22 years.
In 1985, a girl named Brandi Chastain led Archbishop Mitty to a 3-1 overtime win over the Matadors.
Monta Vista's only championship came six years earlier in 1979, a 2-1 triumph over Saratoga in five overtimes.
Rubin finished the season with 10 goals, J. Kute scored eight, C. Kute tallied seven, Pao and Lau had six apiece and junior Sarah Trankle scored four. J. Kute was the top playmaker, setting up her teammates with 11 assists. Pao was second in assists with six, Rubin had five, while Lau and C. Kute totaled four apiece.
Gatley anchored Monta Vista's defensive back line all year, flanked by junior Rosa Ahn and senior Jennifer Nguyen. Other defenders were Kasha Sang and Leah Davis.
Seniors playing their final high school game for Monta Vista were Gatley, Rubin, Lau, C. Kute, Erin Hoxsie, Nguyen, Carine De La Girondarc and Annelyse Fetterman.
