The Bears crushed the Pajaro Valley Grizzlies 3-0 in the CCS quarterfinals on Saturday night.
The Grizzlies started off the game aggressively, but frequent kicks out of bounds led to multiple changes in possession. Despite this, Pajaro Valley was able to gain control of the ball and push into M-A’s half of the field before being stopped by the Bears’ defense.
For the next few minutes, the Bears maintained solid possession and fired off several shot attempts, all of which were to no avail. The Grizzlies nearly turned the tide with a long-range kick at the goal, but junior goalkeeper Elise Koo stopped the ball to keep the score at 0-0 with 25 minutes to go in the first half.
“We started off a little bit shaky,” sophomore striker Stella Hall said. “We weren’t confident on the ball, and we weren’t playing how we usually do.”
After a goal kick by a Pajaro Valley center back, Hall intercepted the ball in the middle of the field. She passed it to freshman forward Cassidy Thomas who passed it back, giving Hall the opportunity to maneuver around the defenders and score a goal, bringing the score to 1-0 with 22 minutes left in the half.
After the goal, the Grizzlies made multiple attempts to fight back by holding control of the ball and creating several chances to score. However, their shots either narrowly missed the goal or were blocked by M-A’s defense.
M-A was unable to gain a firm hold of the ball and the Grizzlies used the opportunity to make two shots at the goal, one of which sailed just over the crossbar, and the other was saved by Koo.
The rest of the first half saw both teams struggling to capitalize on any opportunities. M-A’s defense was solidified, with well-executed interceptions and ball movement to create several attacking chances. However, Pajaro Valley’s scrappy defense and M-A’s inability to convert their shots ultimately ended the first half with the Bears still up 1-0.
“We missed a few really important shots in the first half,” sophomore striker Atessa Gholamy said.
The Bears came out strong in the second half, determined to increase their lead over the Grizzlies. Just three minutes in, junior forward Alexandra Alvarado saw an opportunity to score, but the ball flew above the crossbar. M-A kept the ball in their control and two minutes later, junior midfielder Maddie Bradley fired a shot that was blocked by the Grizzlies’ goalkeeper.
M-A’s offense continued to stay relentless and quickly went in for another attack. Senior midfielder Brooke Fenhrenbach sent a pass to freshman forward Cassidy Thomas, who launched the ball past Pajaro Valley’s goalkeeper and into the net, putting M-A up 2-0 nine minutes into the second half.
The Grizzlies were given a freekick, which was on frame but stopped by freshman goalkeeper Adeleine Soltys. Soon after, they were given another freekick, which they kicked well over the crossbar.
For the last ten minutes, the Grizzlies got desperate to get a point on the board, but the Bears had solidified their control of the game and stopped them from retaining any possession.
After a succession of unsuccessful corner kicks near Pajaro Valley’s goal, a cross from Bradley to junior midfielder Mae Kunihiro allowed her to score, bringing the Bears up 3-0 with three minutes left to play.
“I really wanted a goal, and then Maddie had this beautiful cross. I just wanted to finish it and I did, so I’m happy,” Kunihiro said.
Shortly after the goal, Pajaro Valley’s goalkeeper was injured. After she received medical attention and the clock was adjusted to reflect lost time, the game concluded with M-A securing a 3-0 victory, earning them a spot in the CCS semi-finals.
“We were all going in blind because this is a team that we’ve never seen before,” junior midfielder Mae Kunihiro said. “Our only game plan was to go in strong and play our game.”
“We’re playing Menlo and we lost to them 2-0 last time, but they had this really good player that scored both of their goals,” Hall said. “It was pretty even before so if we can play our game hopefully we can get a win.”
The Bears return to the home field against the Menlo Knights this Wednesday at 5 p.m. for the CCS semi-finals.
