Girls who play for the soccer team at The King's Academy know the expectations are high. "They all know that we have an end goal of winning [the Central Coast Section]," said coach Colin Corstorphine during the CCS Division III tournament last week.

Valley Christian of San Jose ended the Knights' bid to win the section championship, snapping their 12-game winning streak. Valley beat King's in a semifinal game at Milpitas High Friday.

The 4-1 loss followed the Knights' 8-0 unbeaten dash to the Private Schools Athletic League title and a 2-1 CCS quarterfinal win over Monte Vista Christian of Watsonville.

Freshman Faith Tucker and sophomore Laura Vinnicombe scored the goals in the playoff win. Juniors Claire Westwood, Amey Dunaway and Heather Hays, along with Kim Early, led the defense in front of senior goalie Krista Althausen while freshman Lauren Carr and junior Kim Mitchell pressured MV Christian from their midfield positions.

Tucker (18 goals), Mitchell (14) and sophomore Claire Gill (14) were the top scorers for the Knights, who tallied 94 goals while compiling a 16-5-1 overall record.

One of the keys to the Knights' success is "an incredible family atmosphere," says Corstorphine. "Besides soccer, the team has dinner together, goes to the movies and spends lunches in my classroom together sometimes."

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