Cisneros, Sanz propel Bulldogs to 3-2 win over Branham to start CCS playoffs

Leslie Cisneros is dangerous when she’s on the field, regardless if she starts or comes off the bench.
The Santa Teresa Division Sophomore of the Year didn’t play in the first half because of an injury, but the impact she made in the second against Branham was unmistakable.
Cisneros scored a game tying goal in the 52^nd minute and later the game winning goal in overtime to defeat the Bruins 3-2 on Wednesday in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs.
“I wanted to be out there, but you have to have faith in the players who are on the field,” Cisneros said of sitting out the first half.
And her faith wasn’t misplaced.
Kayla Morales scored the game’s first goal in the 19^th minute on a long crossing shot that bent its way into the corner of the net.
“Even though she is younger than me, Kayla is my idol in soccer,” Cisneros said.
From there, keeper Hazel Sanz made some spectacular saves to keep the game close.
In the 12^th minute, Branham’s Brittney Vela had a breakaway opportunity where Sanz charged on a do-or-die play.
Sanz just got her foot on ball to prevent the goal.
But even Sobrato’s stone wall couldn’t stop everything.
In the 22^nd minute, Branham’s Seneca Lent got an easy tap in when several players collided with Sanz in front of the net to knot the game at 1.
Eight minutes later, Vela had an easy look at the goal thanks to a well-placed pass from Ingred Imfeld, which proved to be the difference at halftime.
Sobrato had its chances still in the first half, when Emily Pfefferlen had a wide open look at the net. Her shot looked like it might have been ever so slightly deflected as it clanked off the right post and away from the goal.
In the second half, Cisneros got back into the game hand her presence was immediately felt.
In the 52^nd minute, she took a free kick from 32 yards out that arced over the line of players in the box and fell into the goal to tie the game 2-2.
Branham nearly stole the game just a few seconds later on a counter attack, but Sanz was there to prevent the scoring opportunity, eventually allowing the game to go into overtime.
Almost immediately, Sanz was tested.
In the 83^rd minute, Branham took a shot from the top of the penalty box that Sanz just caught a piece of. The Bruins got to the rebound, but Sanz caught that attempt and cleared the play.
In the 86^th minute of the 10-minute first overtime period, Sanz again made a diving play on a crossing pass that would have been tapped in for a goal if it got past her.
On the ensuing counterattack, Cisneros went to work.
At the top of the box, Cisneros had defenders draped all over her, but she managed to shake all of them and get a good foot on the ball to score the game winning goal.
“I didn’t think it was going in because I didn’t get a good shot on the ball,” Cisneros said. “But when I saw it go in, I was like, ‘we’re going to win.’”
Coach Paul Nishimatsu said he was at a loss at first how to play the remaining 13 minutes of overtime, caught between defending the one goal lead and pressing to possibly expand it to two.
“I thought about dropping back and playing defense, but they were in such a rhythm offensively that I just let them go,” Nishimatsu said.
The strategy worked as Sobrato denied Branham quality looks in front of the net, excluding a free kick from 25 yards out that cleared the crossbar.
From there, the Bulldogs got a few counterattack looks that helped to drain precious minutes off the clock.
Sobrato will now advance to play No. 2 seeded Aptos on Saturday, time and place to be determined.
Nishimatsu said he is eager to have a rematch against Aptos, who beat the Bulldogs 1-0 earlier this season.
“At the beginning of the season, I told the parents I thought this team had a real chance to go deep in the playoffs,” Nishimatsu said. “When I saw the draw that we got, I thought this is exactly what I wanted.”