It will be a classic match-up of the immovable object against
the irresistable force when the No. 5-seeded Live Oak High girls
soccer team hosts No. 12 Alisal in the first round of the Central
Coast Section Division I playoffs on Wednesday.
It will be a classic match-up of the immovable object against the irresistable force when the No. 5-seeded Live Oak High girls soccer team hosts No. 12 Alisal in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs on Wednesday.
As good as the Tri-County Athletic League champion Lady Acorns’ defense has been this season, and it has been very, very good, the Monterey Bay League champion Trojans’ offense has been every bit as impressive.
While Live Oak (12-3-4 overall, 9-0-1 in league) has been shutting down teams all season, Alisal (18-2 overall, 9-1 in league) has been pouring goals into the net with astonishing frequency.
In their 18 games this season, the Acorns have allowed just nine goals, including just one in league play, and have chalked up 14 shutouts, including nine straight in league play. Live Oak’s defense is led by senior Bridgette Bonfiglio and a spate of underclassmen including sophomores Jaime Hickey and Jenny Emick.
Meanwhile, the Trojans set a school record for most goals (74 in 20 games) in a season this year on their way to a school-record 18 wins.
And, Trojan forward Mayra Cruz has been the biggest scorer on the team, tallying a school-record 32 goals by herself.
All that should make for an entertaining match-up, one that intrigues Live Oak coach Tony Vasquez.
“It will be interesting to see what our defense does against their forward, especially if she’s that kind of scorer,” Vasquez said.
But the key to the game may be the Acorn offense, which has struggled to score at times this season. During one two-match stretch a few weeks ago, Live Oak only managed a single goal.
Though the Acorns tallied 14 goals in their last three matches of the league season, two of those matches were against last-place Gilroy.
“Offensively, we’ve been struggling, and you can’t really count the Gilroy (matches),” Vasquez said. “It will be important for us to score a goal or two early and get our confidence. We bring intensity and we have some speed so we’ll try to use that to score some goals.”
Live Oak is led in scoring by junior Michelle McDonald, who tallied 12 goals this season, sophomore Cobbie Jones, who had seven, and senior Janae Pimental, who had six.
Vasquez said he believes his team’s core of senior captains, including Pimental, Bonfiglio, Catriona Adam and Allison Mutz will offset any playoff jitters from the greener Acorns.
“We’re young so hope-fully the girls won’t get nervous,” Vasquez said. “But we have good senior leadership.”
Vasquez has made no secret that his team’s goal is to win the CCS title. But the Acorns just missed earning one of the top four seeds and a first-round bye. Top seeds include No. 1 Palo Alto, No. 2 Aptos, No. 3 Leland and No. 4 Carlmont.
If Live Oak wins its first-round match, it would play Carlmont in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Burlingame High.
A win in the quarters could set up a showdown with top-seed Palo Alto in the semifinals at Milpitas High on Thursday, Feb. 26. The CCS finals will be held on Saturday, Feb. 28 at Valley Christian High.
Last season, the Acorns advanced to the CCS quarterfinals before losing.
The TCAL’s runner-up, Hollister-San Benito, earned the No. 10 seed and will play its first-round match at No. 7 Los Gatos on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
