Lost the battle but not done yet: Girls’ varsity soccer MCAL championship
February 13, 2023
On Saturday, Feb. 12, the girls’ varsity soccer team took an unfortunate loss to Branson in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) championship game. The game took place at San Rafael High School under the lights where, despite the loss, the Giants showed nonstop grit and persistence.
(Robert Lapic)
To start the game, Branson won the flip for kickoff and quickly pushed the ball into the Giants’ half. Nonetheless, the girls’ defense was strong, and they protected their goal for the first half.
As the Giants thrived defensively, their offense was aggressive and took many shots early in the game. Branson played strong defense and didn’t allow much of a spark to the Giants’ offense even though they continued to get the ball onto Branson’s side of the field.
Finally, about halfway through the first half, the Giants gained momentum. This led to them earning a free kick, and they took it as an opportunity to take a shot. But, once the shot made it into the penalty box, Branson was able to intercept the ball before it could get far enough for the Giants to take a lead.
Even with the missed opportunity, the Giants still played a strong rest of the half. With under one minute until halftime, the team got another free kick from far out. Rather than all going up in front of Branson’s goal, Redwood players strategically aligned themselves to push the game onto Branson’s half of the field through positioning themselves sporadically. Even with a powerful shot, Branson blocked the goal, and the first half ended with a tied score of 0-0.
(Robert Lapic)
As the second half began, Branson pushed the ball down the field and scored, giving them a 1-0 lead. The goal came from a breakaway leading to a one-on-one with senior goalie Paige Barta. Unfortunately, Barta couldn’t stop the strong attack so Branson got on the scoreboard first.
Not long after Branson scored, junior Coco Boyden scored a goal for the Giants, tying the game at 1-1.
Sophomore Charlotte Lacy reflected on Boyden’s goal and her importance in the game.
“Boyden always steps up. She’s always a leader on that field, and continues to step up every day,” Lacy said.
Junior Mika Amir added to Lacy’s thoughts about Boyden.
“When [Boyden] is calm, the whole game is calm. Everything revolves around her in the game, which is such a great trait to have because when she has the ball you know it will end up in a good place,” Amir said.
Despite strong offensive efforts from both teams, regulation ended with a low score of 1-1. At this point, the game went into “golden goal”, meaning the game would continue with two more 10 minute halves, where the first team to score a goal wins. If no team scores a goal after the halves, then the game goes into penalty kicks.
With back and forth possessions, Branson was able to use some momentum to their advantage, scoring just four minutes into the first half of overtime, giving them an MCAL championship victory.
Lacy reflected on the team’s mentality after the loss.
“Frustrated, yes. Sad, yes. But disappointed, no. Soon after the game [ended] texts started flooding in saying how proud we were of one another,” Lacy said. “We went into [the game] like we were going to win, we were excited. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but we were going to battle to the end.”
Despite the unfortunate loss, the Giants showed strength, stamina and determination throughout the game. While the MCAL season is over, the girls will play their first round of the North Coast Section on Tuesday, Feb. 14 against Newark Memorial.
