Behind a goal and an assist from Jessica Stofer, the Anzar
girls’ soccer team won its third straight game Monday when it
shutout Pacific Collegiate 2-0, and remains on pace for another key
league matchup later this week at Gonzales.
SANTA CRUZ
Behind a goal and an assist from Jessica Stofer, the Anzar girls’ soccer team won its third straight game Monday when it shutout Pacific Collegiate 2-0, and remains on pace for another key league matchup later this week at Gonzales.
The Hawks have won three straight games since falling to Gonzales on Jan. 27 — its first and only loss in Coastal Athletic League play this season. Anzar is now 8-1 with three games remaining, while Gonzales is 8-2 with two games remaining.
The top two teams in the CAL will meet up in Gonzales on Friday at 4 p.m.
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Pacific Collegiate, meanwhile, falls to 6-2-1 with three games remaining, with its loss to Anzar on Monday making the postseason hill much steeper to climb.
There’s only one automatic playoff bid in the CAL, and that bid could be awarded to the winner of the Anzar-Gonzales matchup on Friday.
“It’s still a tight run. But I feel very (good) with this win under our belt,” Anzar head coach Carlos Flores said.
The Hawks (10-5-1) previously defeated Pacific Collegiate 2-0 on Jan. 13 in San Juan Bautista, although that game saw Anzar jump out to a two-goal lead by halftime.
On Monday, it was far different scenario, as Anzar and PCS played to a scoreless tie at the break. And the Hawks didn’t deposit the go-ahead goal until the 65th minute when Stofer set up a score for Brianna Miltimore.
Stofer then supplied a much-needed insurance goal for Anzar nine minutes later off an assist from Lauren Bellone.
“It’s a difficult field to play on — very small, tight spaces,” Flores said. “But I think the girls were able to adjust to the field.”
It was PCS that controlled the game for the first 20 minutes, however. In fact, the Pumas had several corner kicks before Anzar was able to mount any sort of offensive threat.
At halftime, Flores made some adjustments on the attack, including one that pushed the ball out toward the wings in order to avoid the Pacific Collegiate sweeper.
“And we would get the cross in and our girls were capable of converting on some scoring opportunities,” Flores added. “But it was a tight game the whole way.”
And it was a key win for the Hawks, who control their own destiny toward the postseason.
Before its showdown at Gonzales, though, Anzar will first battle Trinity Christian on Wednesday in San Juan Bautista. The Hawks won the first round against the private Monterey school by a 7-0 margin on Jan. 18.
Kickoff is 4 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 F
ANZR 0 2 2
PACS 0 0 0
