Anzar falls 2-1 to Stevenson in first-ever postseason game
Pebble Beach
The Anzar Hawks already made history this year, as they recently completed what could be the greatest season in Anzar girls soccer history.
After earning the No. 8 seed in the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs, in what was their first-ever trip to the postseason, the Hawks were looking to add to the history books against No. 9 Stevenson Wednesday in Pebble Beach.
Playing as if they’ve been there before, the Hawks carried a 1-0 lead to the break, but the Pirates upped the offensive pressure in the second half and outlasted Anzar for a 2-1 opening-round win.
RLS will play against top-seeded Santa Cruz on Saturday.
The Hawks, which will finish their season with a 10-5-2 overall record, qualified for the CCS after winning the Coastal Athletic League with a 9-1-2 record. No other Anzar girls soccer team has qualified for the CCS playoffs.
“CCS was the goal. Absolutely,” coach Deric McLean said. “Making it here was almost a must-happen for these girls.
“We looked awesome. We looked great. This is the best team Anzar has ever fielded – boys or girls.”
Senior Allison Lopez put the Hawks on the scoreboard first, scoring in the 14th minute. Lopez, listed as a defender, took a shot straightaway from 28 yards out that found the top right corner. Said McLean, “It was not a looper.”
McLean said the strategy coming in was to shutdown Stevenson’s leading scorer, Annie Lee, as well as force them to take shots from the outside.
In the first half, they accomplished both of those things, and went to the half with a 1-0 lead. Anzar’s back line of Britni Ramos, Molly Slovacek, Christina Tanouye, Jen Gross and Lopez prevented the Pirates from penetrating in the first 40 minutes.
“Same strategy in the second half,” McLean said. “We were under fire, for sure. They came out strong in the second half. They had a lot of talented players.”
Stevenson would tie the game in the 59th minute when Heidi Blair’s pass to the left side found Charlotte Vetter, who pocketed the tying goal.
Later, Diana White roped a shot into the left side of the net for the go-ahead goal. The score was assisted by Cami Littlefield in the 67th minute.
Anzar keeper Erin Deleissegues had 14 saves for the Hawks, while the offense took six shots on Stevenson’s net.
“This was our goal and we accomplished our goal, for sure,” McLean said of the CCS bid. “This should be a whole lot of positive girls … Heads are up.”
