The Bears outperformed the Woodside Wildcats 4-1 on Tuesday evening in an entertaining spectacle.
The ball started in the Wildcats’ possession, with the Bears coming in steady on defense, forcing Woodside back into their territory. M-A then flipped the roles around, lurking near the Wildcats’ goal and utilizing crisp passes to find an opening.
This resulted in numerous shot attempts from sophomore forward Cassidy Thomas, senior midfielder Maddie Bradley, and senior midfielder Sammy Ruiz, all of which soared just shy of the net. M-A continued to stay close to Woodside’s goal, creating tension with aggressive plays.
Defensively, junior defender Juliana Pandolfo stayed alert, applying pressure and breaking up Woodside’s advances. Senior defender June Wagner shut down multiple breakaways, keeping the Bears steady as possession shifted back-and-forth midway along the field.
With 14 minutes left in the half, M-A broke through when senior forward Mae Kunihiro converted on a penalty kick to give the Bears a 1-0 lead. M-A continued to apply the pressure after the point, keeping the ball near Woodside’s goal and limiting the Wildcats’ ability to maintain possession.
Woodside had a few close opportunities late in the half, including a near miss that flew right by the post, but M-A held firm. With two minutes remaining, the Wildcats slipped a shot past the Bears’ defense into the corner of the goal to tie the game 1-1 heading into halftime.
“We came out really strong in the first half, but then our energy kind of lacked a bit, and it showed with our mistakes when they scored on us,” Ruiz said.
M-A came into the second half rejuvenated, with junior defender Ella Badawi setting an example through hustle, crisp footwork, and quick passes. In an anxiety-inducing couple of seconds, a shot from Woodside ricocheted off the top goal post and then back down, just inches from going in.
“Halftime was important. We were a little shaky in the beginning, but it was really helpful to get on the same page and come up with a plan against this team, which worked,” junior midfielder Atessa Gholamy said.
Repeated score attempts from Woodside heightened the pace of the game, but sophomore goalkeeper Adeleine Soltys denied the ball from entering. Thomas and Ruiz ramped up the offensive intensity, flying down the field with a determination to score.
Possession continued to flip, and Pandolfo stayed active on defense, slowing the Wildcats’ momentum and fast breaks. Both teams soared down the field, eager to secure another point.
M-A broke through Woodside’s defense, resulting in a shot attempt from Kunihiro that went just a smidge too high. Following a corner kick from Ruiz with 12:20 minutes left, a header from Alvarado landed in the net, setting the Bears up 2-1.
“[Alvarado’s goal] was a really strong goal off of Sammy’s corner, and that definitely switched over the momentum to us, and we were able to score two more goals,” Pandolfo said.
“I feel like we always work on our corners and pray that it comes out in that moment, and it did perfectly,” Alvarado said.
Just minutes after, Kunihiro finessed the ball into the Wildcats goal, lifting the Bears to 3-1 with eight minutes remaining. In a three-goal extravaganza, the ball ricocheted off Woodside and M-A players by the Wildcats goal, eventually going in with the last touch on Woodside.
With M-A now up 4-1, the game mellowed out as the Bears focused on defense and basked in their lead, securing the score to end the game.
“This was one of our strongest games… we were really able to work together,” Pandolfo said.
The Bears will travel to Burlingame next to take on the Panthers on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
