The Pumas, a girls' under-16 select team from Los Gatos, were league and Cup champs this past season. Team members included (front row, l-r) Sarah Schopback, Kristen Gordon, Meghan Miyomoto, Stephanie Neustadter, Nichole Sachor, Stacey Caro and Elizabeth Hughes, and (back row, l-r) coach Walt Pearson, Emily Najour, Marcia Wallis, Kim Stocklmeir, Stephanie Pearson, Beth Gutto, Callie Withers, Erica Timirios and trainer David Gold.
The 1995-96 season wasn't a great one for the Los Gatos Pumas.
The team that once won a State Cup and advanced far enough to become a finalist at the Western Regionals slipped a bit last year.
But it appears that the Pumas are back. The girls' soccer team that once ran with champions is a champion once again.
The Pumas, a Los Gatos United Soccer Association girls' under-16 select team, won the under-17 championship this past season in the tough Abronzino League, and they backed that up with a championship in under-19 District II Cup play.
The Pumas won four straight games in Cup competition, outscoring their opponents 23-0.
In league play, the Pumas outscored the competition 145-17 in rolling to an 8-0 record.
The Pumas, coached by Walt Pearson along with trainer David Gold, hit their stride during the fall season, rolling through the competition at every level.
"The Pumas are playing some of the best soccer I've seen in youth teams, boys or girls," said Gold.
But there were more than just league and Cup championships for the Pumas this past season. They added titles in the Los Gatos Summer Classic, the Danville Mustangs Stampede Classic, the Livermore Girls' Fall Classic and the El Dorado Halloween Shootout.
Marcia Wallis, Callie Withers and newcomer Stacey Caro were the top scorers for the Pumas in the recently completed season. The three combined for over 75 goals and 50 assists for the champs.
Stephanie Pearson was the anchor of the defense for the Pumas. The talented goalkeeper recorded 18 shutouts for the Pumas this season. She also came out of the net for a game and scored a goal as a forward.
Erica Timirios, Nichole Sachor, Elizabeth Hughes, Kelly Pryor, Beth Gutto, Emily Najour and Stephanie Neustadter were other offensive stars for the Pumas.
Sweeper Kim Stocklmeir was a key defensive player for the champs along with Meghan Miyamoto, Kristen Gordon, Sarah Schopback and Laura Gurney.
The Pumas are now in the midst of a break from the select soccer program, but it doesn't mean they are no longer on the soccer field. Many of them are currently playing for their high school teams.
Caro, Pearson and Wallis are each members of the Los Gatos girls' team that is currently closing in on the championship in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic, and Neustadter is a star player for the unbeaten Presentation Panthers in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
Stocklmeir, meanwhile, is a starter for the Monta Vista girls' basketball team, currently in first place in the De Anza Division.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, February 12, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.