As the clock eclipsed the 75-minute mark at Valley Christian School, Sobrato won a corner kick against Presentation.
The shot went through and a made scrum ensued to at the same time launch the ball into the net and clear it out of the penalty area.
Mallory Wayman found herself in the middle of that scrum, got her knee on the ball and launched it forward toward the goal. But instead of going in, the ball hit a wall of people and was eventually cleared.
Sobrato had one more chance after that moment to at least get a tally on the board, but it too was thwarted and the referee’s whistle blew.
Wayman and her teammates walked off the pitch as all around them players from Presentation celebrated a hard-fought 2-0 victory.
And just like that, the dreams of bringing home the first Central Coast Section team title to Sobrato were dashed. Instead, the trophy case will display the second place plaque, commemorating a team that was not supposed to be in the championship game at all.
The No. 11 seed overcame the odds through out the Division II playoffs and ultimately came up short of its goal of stunning the section to make it all the way to the top.
“It was a true metamorphosis on this team from preseason to the regular season and even into the playoffs,” said coach Jason Carreras. “They found it within themselves. We had a couple of middle season practices when we were transitioning from preseason to regular season where I had them look inside themselves.”
Carreras said he has tried that technique a few times, but this year it really stuck and he saw his team turn things around from the nonleague schedule.
Sobrato finished 11-6-6 overall and was 6-2-6 in Mt. Hamilton Division play. The Bulldogs had never played in a CCS semifinals game let alone a title game in girls soccer history.
“At the beginning of the season we didn’t do that well, but toward the end of the season we came together and we worked well together,” said Kayla Morales.
Carreras took over the squad after it had advanced to the second round of the CCS playoffs in 2015.
He said from that point to Saturday, he saw the mentality change and the girls became mentally tough.
“I could see growth mentally in them. We had a lot of freshmen we picked up to grow and keep the longevity of the program going,” Carreras said. “What I see in them is friendship. When you have friendship and skill, you have chemistry. When you have chemistry you can take on everybody.”
There were still smiles on the faces of the Bulldogs after the game. No tears were obvious, but some clearly some were disappointed.
Sobrato came out with a flurry to start the game, immediately putting pressure on Presentation’s defense.
“They were a brilliant team. They were in our faces when they needed to be. When they had the ball on their feet, they made the right passes,” Carreras said. “They’re well coached and had lots of structure. They were definitely a breed of team that we hadn’t seen yet.”
Within three minutes, Sobrato had perhaps its best chance at converting a goal. Striker Kayla Morales led a breakaway up the sideline and sent a crosser into the penalty area intended for Emily Pfefferlen—the hero of the semifinals who converted the lone goal.
“Every team we played all year long had a plan for Emily Pfefferlen: They would double-team her, but she overcame and scored her goals,” Carreras said. “This time they shut her down. First time in the finals.”
The ball went through, past Pfefferlen, but found the feet of Katie Somavia who got a shot off that just went wide of the cage.
From that moment, however, the quality chances were harder to come by.
Sobrato had three shots on target. All three were turned aside.
“We needed to pressure together to stop them from passing. But they were just really fast and they have a lot of strong players,” Morales said.
Meanwhile, Presentation kept the pressure going on the other end of the field.
The attack led by Emily Cook and Cassie Snow along with a whole slew of other Panthers proved relentless.
And after two good looks on target—both turned aside by keeper Sarah Somavia—Presentation finally converted.
In the 23rd minute crossing pass found the feet of Cook who had a point-blank look at the cage and didn’t miss.
Despite that goal and one more in the 46th minute, Sobrato’s defense stood tall against the onslaught of an organized Presentation team.
Somavia made six saves against nine chances, including three high difficulty chances that she just managed to get a hand on to stop.
In the 72nd minute, Presentation had a quality look that was shot at the cross bar that Somavia just got a hand on to punch over and out.
The effort got a hug from defender Megan Rottenborn just before Sobrato cleared the zone for good.
The defense came through for Somavia in the 36th minute when Snow had an open look at goal after the Sobrato keeper had just made a play to stop a shot just seconds earlier.
The Bulldogs defense collapsed and prevented Snow from getting her leg fully cocked to launch the ball. Eventually, Sobrato was awarded a free kick to help close the half.
Presentation entered the break up 1-0, but didn’t waste time out of the intermission.
After a chance in the 43rd minute went wide for the Panthers, Snow converted on a rebound chance in the 46th minute to put the game effectively on ice.
Sobrato wasn’t able to muster enough chances in the second half to properly threaten the two-goal deficit.
As the Bulldogs conclude the season, they do so knowing the entire team save one will return next year.
Senior Ally Chun will be the lone graduating member of the squad and got a final cheer from her teammates as they left the bench to head home.
The Bulldogs will return seven juniors and nine sophomores with four freshmen next season, including strikers Morales and Pfefferlen along with keeper Somavia and the entire defense.
It was enough to make Carreras optimistic about next season.
“We’re graduating one player, so we’ll be back next year,” Carreras said. “If you didn’t know who Sobrato Bulldogs were, you definitely know now.”
And as the next two teams warmed up for their chance at a CCS title, Carreras walked across the field with a back slung across his shoulders. A fan from the stands stood and shouted, “Hold your head up Jason!” and began to clap for the coach.
Carreras lifted his head, gave a thumbs up and continued toward the exit where families from Sobrato still mingled soaking in what they just saw.
