Redwood sweeps MCAL playoffs; boys pull off the double

Saturday evening will not be forgotten any time soon by the Redwood (Calif.) boys and girls soccer teams. Both teams claimed thrilling 1-0 victories over top-class opponents to win the Marin County Athletic League tournament titles, with the boys claiming the hard-to-accomplish double. Both teams claimed the top seed in the North Coast Section Division II playoffs, as well as the seedings were released on Sunday. The Giants were the MCAL regular season champions, doubling up the trophy case in what can only be described as an intense and incredible 1-0 win over a very good Terra Linda team. <img class="size-medium wp-image-39080 alignleft" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/02/IMG_1949-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" />Redwood scored almost at the death, with a 79th minute goal off the head of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="8053" first="Keaton" last="Fargo"]</strong>, who’s well-timed header led to an enormous celebration in the northeast corner of Miller Field in San Rafael. “It just felt unreal," Fargo said. "To be honest, it still doesn’t even feel real. This was a great effort from the entire team, not just me, and I am happy that I was able to come up big when the team needed me to. I still can’t believe that it happened.” The goal came just two minutes after Redwood thought that it had the winner, but <strong>Jack Middleton’s</strong> goal was ruled out by an offside call that was controversial. However, the Giants absorbed that gut punch and came right back and got the winner, showing an internal fortitude that many teams may not have been able to show. "For a lot of teams, I think it’s very very hard but for us the number two value in our program is mental strength and dealing with adversity," Redwood coach Will Finnie said. "Whether it’s goals getting chalked off, whether it’s not getting goals when we’re dominating a game like we did today and just sticking with it and staying together and getting the job done." The goal was set up by a Terra Linda foul, giving Redwood a free kick from about 30 yards out from a right-diagonal angle. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="7391" first="Dave" last="Mazariegos"]</strong> stood over the ball, took his time to line it up and knowing he had a chance to do something legendary, put a perfect cross into the box, which Fargo headed home. “I was just thinking to myself that this could be the big moment," Mazariegos said. "I knew it was probably the last chance that we had and I just wanted to put a good ball in to the box and Keaton made a great play on it.” Fargo and Mazariegos lead a group of seniors who have been waiting for two seasons to chase this feeling. "After our first real practice, I said we were going to be champions this year," Finnie said. "I knew it was within our ability to do it this year. We have 14 seniors who have been waiting the last two years for a real soccer season and I’m just so happy for them because they have had so much taken away from them the last couple of years." Several seniors stood out in the boys game for both sides. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="8053" first="Keaton" last="Fargo"], Redwood, Senior, Defender</strong> Fargo obviously receives a lot of praise and glory for delivering the game-winning goal, but he is also a very good defender who matched up with a very talented front line from Terra Linda. He’s fast, strong, and tough. He’s an exciting player who can possess the ball well and push up the field. <strong>Matt Jessen, Redwood, Senior, Forward</strong> Jessen was a handful all day for Terra Linda, going down the left side, making runs into the box, and working hard every single minute on the pitch. Jessen has a big motor, is an emotional leader for the Giants, and has great technical ability that allows him to be an offensive threat. He also gets back and defends very well. <strong>Kleber Maldonado, Terra Linda, Senior, Midfielder</strong> Maldonado might have been the standout player on this day. He absolutely controlled the midfield, showing amazing technical ability and skill. He finds pockets of space, delivers precise balls to his teammates either facilitating a ball to the wing or trying to play a ball through the middle. His work rate was top class as well, with his engine never stopping. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="7391" first="Dave" last="Mazariegos"], Redwood, Senior, Midfielder</strong> Mazariegos is a confident player who shines in big moments. He is a creative player with a nose for goal. One of the better attacking players in the league who likes to go forward. Mazariegos can score goals aplenty but is great about setting up his teammates as he did on Saturday. The Redwood girls won by the same score line, but removed the drama by scoring early and using a staunch defensive performance from their back four and keeper for a 1-0 win over Branson. "In these games, there is not going to be a lot of goals," Redwood coach Ivan Bandov said. "Both teams are talented in the back and both goalkeepers are very good so it’s really one-goal wins it." The Giants scored in the 17th minute on a corner kick off the right foot of Zoe Curtaz, while the inscrutable Bri Salvetti was on the other end of it and put the ball in the back of the net. Redwood beat Branson 1-0 towards the end of the MCAL regular season as well on a header off a corner. Redwood nearly scored in the 7th minute as<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="19169" first="Avery" last="Jones"]</strong> had a point-blank opportunity, but a great save by Patricia DePalma kept the match scoreless for the time being. Branson did not have a lot of great scoring opportunities, but one did present itself in the 58th minute when Anna Lardner seemed in on goal, but Redwood’s eminent keeper <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="19934" first="Mia" last="Hamant"]</strong> closed the play down quickly, close the angle and made the stop. The Bulls were better from that point on, but could not find an equalizer. "We kinda grew into the game, something I’m so proud of our teams is they keep fighting and they believe in each other," Branson coach Tyler Gottschalk said. "We did a little bit better job of getting the ball in behind their back line and using our pace a little bit to cause some problems." For much of the match, getting behind the back four, which consisted of the combination of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="20230" first="Sophia" last="Pero"], [player_tooltip player_id="20097" first="Riley" last="Anderson"], Katie Noguiero, Sydney Nicol</strong> and <strong>Maddie Buck</strong>, was very hard to do. "They’re just solid," Bandov said of the back line. "They know their role, they play well together and there is a great sync between them and Mia." Gottschalk agreed about the impact the Redwood back four had on the match and cited their experience as a big factor. "They’re super experienced and so solid in the back. [player_tooltip player_id="20097" first="Riley" last="Anderson"], this is her third final, [player_tooltip player_id="20230" first="Sophia" last="Pero"], the right back, her positioning was fantastic," Gottschalk said. "You could see the big game experience for them really shined in important moments." Standouts for Branson included <strong>Ally Hsieh</strong>, the diminutive but fierce freshman striker, who battled with the aforementioned back four all night long and did a great job battling as a target striker, winning several balls in the air. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="19785" first="Lena" last="Sugrue"]</strong>, the senior defender, was a force all night for the Bulls. Battling for every ball, clearing several dangerous balls in the box, and being a physical presence.