CA - SCVAL Girls Soccer: 1st Place Los Gatos at Santa Clara

This was one of the most entertaining matches I've covered this year.   The Los Gatos Wildcats came in at first place with a (5-0-1) record (8-2-4) overall and the 48th ranking in CA.  Both the Wildcats and the Santa Clara Bruins fielded some top-level club players and it was great to evaluate some new and upcoming talent.   The Bruins took the lead early in the first half due to an own goal as a set piece was sent to the penalty area.  Each team had multiple chances to add to the score, but the goalkeepers on each side held their ground.  In the second half, Los Gatos made an offensive push and got on the board by a perfect chip from Vanessa Leathem to Striker [player_tooltip player_id='82602' first='Abby' last='Nelson'] for  a sweet equalizer goal.  The ball was placed perfectly between two defenders and Nelson directed it down and let it bounce three times before ripping it past the goalkeeper.  Abby is ranked as #17 in CA and #3 in her position.  She now has 9 goals on the season with 8 assists.  She is on pace to surpass her freshmen record of 16 goals.   Goal #3 of the match was also one of the best goals I've seen up to this point.  Kacy Carlos sent a lob pass from her side which was knocked back by a LG player to midfielder Alicia Olguin.  Olguin then chipped it to forward Ava Rangel who flicked it over a defender and slipped by another 2 defenders before sending the ball home.  It was a beautiful sequence and the finish was top-notch.  At that point, things would look bleak for many teams, but that was not so for the Wildcats.  As the game neared the end of regulation time, they ramped up their attack and tied it up off of a beautiful set piece.  Senior midfielder Macie Yannoni's direct kick soared high above the wall before dropping between the crossbar and the GK's hand.  It was simply perfect and literally unstoppable.   As for the Bruins and HC Brad Comstock, I look to see them building their confidence after competing with the 8th ranked team in the section.  This is a team which will get better down the stretch.  And for HC Jessica Ingram and the Wildcats, they will be locked-in on finishing on top.  Only the first place team in their league is guaranteed a spot in the CCS tournament.    Teagan's impressive play on defense kept the opposing team from slipping through the middle of the field.  She closed down diagonal runs and made quick decisions to disrupt some of the speedy players from getting behind the defensive line.  Her ability to start quick counter attacks helped the Wildcats get into scoring range.  She has the technical skills as a midfielder and contributes when her team is pressing.  It is hard to believe that she is only a sophomore as skill-level is usually seen at higher age groups.  Teagan also plays for the [program_tooltip program_id='278033' first='MVLA' last='ECNL'] G09 team.     Primarily played on the defensive side, but moved up during the attack.  She's able to win back possession and showed some speed running the channels when chasing down wingers.  Avery won most of her 50/50 challenges and showed her technical skills in distributing precise passes.  Her ability to find open players was also key to transitioning play.  Avery contributed in all three areas on the pitch, due to her high fitness level.  She also plays on the [program_tooltip program_id='278033' first='MVLA' last='ECNL'] G09 team.  Can't wait to see her in our rankings.      Has a great feel for the game.  She was calm and collective when going up against a high powered Wildcats attack.  Rylee didn't back down and played a smart game by anticipating attacking lanes and by keeping her composure.  Her quick decisions while under pressure helped to slow down the attack from her defensive side.  She also has good technical skills as she's previously played as an attacking-mid and forward.  She made a few precise passes to start counter attacks.  Rylee also plays on the De Anza Force ECNL team.  Most impressively, she is only a freshman and she will be contributing more to her team as the season goes on.     Kacy played a key role on defense as she was tasked at slowing down the #1 offense in the league.  She made some big stops when attackers tried slipping through the lanes.  Her intelligence and skill-level were the main factors in keeping this game close.  She plays physical and can make precise passes to the attacking third from her defensive side.  Kacy started most of the counter attacks and one of her set play lobs resulted in the Bruins second goal.  She is definitely one of the top defenders in the league.     Ava's smart and decisive movements allowed her to squeeze between the defense and get her into scoring range.  Her quickness on the ball and speed up top kept the defense on their heels.  She played a “high attack” when pressing up and was able to capitalize on a win back possession to give the Bruins the go-ahead goal.  It was one of the best individual efforts that resulted in a goal.  After receiving the lob pass, Ava flicked the ball back over her head and ran through 2 defenders before firing off a rocket shot.  The goalkeeper was able to get her hands on it, but there was too much pace on it.  Ava plays for the Santa Clara Sporting club team.     Malia played primarily as a center-mid and she did well with making passing connections and winning back possessions.  She has a quick acceleration and anticipated angled runs on defense.  Her decisive plays enabled her team to advance the ball into the attacking third and make quality shots on goal.  She tracked opposing midfielders from sideline to sideline and made some stops when they tried slipping through the lanes.  Malia is also a freshman and plays for the Santa Clara Sporting club team.    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/1892981725791179019 </div></figure>

This was one of the most entertaining matches I've covered this year. The Los Gatos Wildcats came in at first place with a (5-0-1) record (8-2-4) overall and the 48th ranking in CA. Both the Wildcats and the Santa Clara Bruins fielded some top-level club players and it was great to evaluate some new and upcoming talent.