The Rams finished first in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League to earn a place in the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs but, after a win on penalty kicks over Robert Louis Stevenson in the opening round, they lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Scotts Valley in the quarterfinals.

In the opening round, Stevenson took the early lead with a first-half goal, but the Rams tied it in the second half when sophomore forward Mayra Diaz scored off an assist by freshman midfielder Taylor Lundquist.

The score remained locked at 1-1 through overtime before the two clubs settled the game on penalty kicks. Willow Glen outshot Stevenson 4-2 to post the win and advance to the next round of the tourney.

But the Rams lost a tight 1-0 decision to Scotts Valley to fall out of the competition. The loss left the Rams 15-3-3 for the year.

Scotts Valley will now face Santa Cruz in the semifinals on Feb. 23 with the winner to meet the Valley Christian-Harbor winner on Feb. 25 for the CCS Division III championship. Both games will be played at Valley Christian.

The bad news for the Rams is that the loss to Scotts Valley brought their season to an abrupt end. The good news is that all but two of their players--seniors Dulce Alvarez and Janet/Maria Guzman--return to the field next season.

Willow Glen had five juniors, four sophomores and five freshman on its roster this winter, giving head coach Mitch Method a solid corps of returners for the 2006-07 season.

Juniors Kathryn Cremer, Rebekah Cremer, Aracely Esquerra, Chelsea Sikk and Ashley Tovar will join sophs Diaz, Evelyn Cervantes, Jessica Method and Lanae Rodriguez and freshmen Lundquist, Burree Cowherd, Kristen Edmunds, Danielle Wong and Danielle Yaconelli as top returners next winter.

Spirit tryouts

The Central Valley Spirit 93G, a girls under-13 Class 1, Division 1 soccer team, will hold tryouts for the spring and fall seasons at Fammatre School in San Jose. The team is coached by Albert Serkus, a former international professional player. For more information, contact Denell Lanphear at 408.559.8234 or nophear67@sbcglobal.net.