TCAL co-champion ‘Balers knocked out by Leigh in first round
Hollister – It may not have got the victory it was hoping for, but the San Benito girls soccer team proved Wednesday that it belonged in the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.
The No. 12 Haybalers rallied from an early deficit to tie the game at halftime and made it interesting late before falling to No. 6 Leigh 4-2 in their first-round game at Andy Hardin Stadium.
The loss ends the season for San Benito (13-6-2), while the Longhorns (10-2-7) advance to the quarterfinals Saturday to face No. 4 Monta Vista.
“I was really happy with the way we played,” senior captain Brittany Huth said. “I was hoping for a win, but we made them sweat a little bit. We did the best we’ve ever done this year.”
Leigh, the runner-up in the always tough Mount Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, showed its skill early on. In the fifth minute, Marissa Dunaway floated a perfect centering feed toward the net that Emily Trudeau headed in for a 1-0 lead.
While the Longhorns continued to control much of the action, they were held scoreless for the rest of the half.
In the 30th minute, San Benito got the equalizer. Sophomore JC Clayton controlled the ball and streaked down the left side, beating several defenders.
She delivered a strong shot toward the net that deflected off the keeper and trickled through toward the goal. Janessa Gillies raced in and slammed it into the net to tie it at 1-1.
“We made ’em worry at 1-1,” ‘Balers’ coach Mike Schurig said.
It stayed that way through halftime, but Leigh started the second half fast, with Kim Johnston scoring for the Longhorns in the 42nd minute.
In the 55th minute, Johnston scored again when she chested in a shot off a Angela Santoro corner kick to make it 3-1.
Leigh seemed to have the game in control, but San Benito refused to go away.
In the 73rd minute, freshman Sophie Coelho sent a pass to Huth on the left side. She fought through a defender and got herself open and kicked a looping shot over the keeper and into the net to make it 3-2.
Four minutes later, the ‘Balers threatened again. Christiana Perez dribbled the ball most of the way down the field and passed to Coelho. She looked to be free and tried to corral the ball, but lost control of it as San Benito was whistled offsides on the play.
Shortly after, the Longhorns put the game away when the ‘Balers fell asleep on a corner kick and Johnston bent in a shot from the side for her third goal to make it 4-2.
“Here we were against a really, really good team and we were in it until that putaway goal,” Schurig said. “To have a team that stayed in it says a lot about us.”
While the end runs here for San Benito, it will go down as their most successful in school history as they earned a share of the Tri-County Athletic League crown to win the first girls soccer title in school history.
“I’m never going to forget it. This was the best season ever,” Huth said.
The team also appears to have a bright future, with the league’s Freshman of the Year (Coelho) returning. Several sophomores (including Goalkeeper of the Year Emily Key and first-team all-league selection Clayton) are expected to be back and there’s a reported strong crop of eighth graders entering the school, leading the ‘Balers to believe their best days may still be ahead of them.
“I think we’re going to do even better next year if everyone keeps working hard,” Huth said.
“At one point we had four freshman in there,” said Schurig, who called up two players from the junior varsity team. “That says a lot about the future of this program.”
