An unprecedented 11th game of the Central California Athletic League girls soccer season took place under the lights of Pitman High School on Tuesday night between the Pride and crosstown rival Turlock, as the two teams with matching 5-4-1 conference records needed to break a tie to determine the third and final league representative in the upcoming 2025 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.
After 80 minutes of play, it was the Bulldogs celebrating a 2-1 win thanks in part to late heroics from senior forward Megan Coelho.
The score was 1-1 with six minutes of regulation remaining when Coelho executed what she described as one of the best kicks of her life.
Standing to the left of the 30-yard line on the turf Pitman High field, Coelho found herself with the ball after a Pitman defender couldn’t quite handle it off her chest. With space in front of her, she loaded up, launched the ball from nearly 40 yards away and placed it into the top right corner of the back of the net.
“Really, that was a bomb,” her head coach, Nicole Lonergan, joked.
Following a short celebration at midfield, the Bulldogs kept the opposing offense in check for the final five minutes, kicking the ball away as soon as the Pride would try working it towards the north end of the pitch.
“I am so excited,” Coelho said following the game. “I honestly wasn’t expecting to do that. I saw the ball was coming towards me, (the defender) made a mistake in front of me, and I thought, “Oh, I have a chance to score.” So I cut it loose and shot it… It just feels really good.”
Coelho’s game-winner came just eight minutes after the game was knotted by teammate Isis Cosio, who received a pass from Eliza Roque before shooting from just outside of the penalty box. The ball hit the crossbar and bounced down inside of the goal box. That’s what shifted momentum back to the Bulldogs, who were momentarily discouraged after giving up a goal just five minutes into the second half. Scoring for Pitman was junior Tatiana Rios, who used her left foot to lift a short shot over the head of Turlock goalkeeper Frankie Ronveaux.
“We were much more aggressive after that,” said Lonergan. “We had talked about a game plan and what our formation change would be, and then I changed my mind, and I felt like a different formation would have been a better choice.”
That new plan was to put three defenders in the back, five players in the middle of the field, and two strikers waiting near the goal box as an attempt to better control the flow of the game.
“I think they really realized how much more space they had in the middle of the field to play, and they were ready to go,” Lonergan said. “Our forward line this year with Megan, Isis, Eli(za) are all seniors, and all three have been on varsity for a couple years, and they've also played together since they were really young, so they're all super comfortable together, which just makes it a lot easier for us because they rotate really well, they communicate super well, they find each other. It’s so great to have them together.”
Despite the one goal allowed, Ronveaux caught or blocked everything that came her way. The Pride shot six times, and she recorded four saves.
“There's a lot of talent and a lot of heart on this team, and I think that the rest of our postseason is going to be whatever they decide it's going to be,” Lonergan said. “if they show up with the right mentality and they execute the game plan that we've worked on all season, then I think the sky's the limit for them.”
The Bulldogs will now wait to learn their playoff seeding. Brackets for all six divisions in the section will be released Wednesday.
Denair teams also punch postseason tickets
The winningest regular season in the history of Denair High’s girls soccer program concluded Tuesday afternoon, with the Coyotes beating Gustine 3-2 to secure a 12-0 campaign in the Southern Athletic League.
The boys, meanwhile, finished at 8-2-2 and have also clinched a postseason berth, aiming to win a third section title in four years.
Hughson boys win TVL title
For the first time since 2006, Hughson has won a league championship for boys soccer.
The Huskies ended league competition on Feb. 7 with a scoreless draw with Hilmar, finishing with a 5-2-5 record against conference opponents. The difference was half a game, as the Yellowjackets, Ripon and Ripon Christian finished in a three-way tie for second place. Fifth-place Orestimba had more wins, though, with a 6-5-1 record. But ties are much better than losses, as they’ve learned.
Lady ‘Jackets knock off Ripon in TVL finale
An unconventional regular season ended in celebration for Hilmar’s girls soccer team, the reigning Sac-Joaquin Section Division V champions and the 2024 CIF NorCal Division V runners-up.
On Monday, the Yellowjackets knocked off league champion Ripon by a 3-1 score. The result improved their record to 8-2-2 against conference opponents and clinched third place in the Trans-Valley League. Their position in the league standings earned them a playoff spot.
