St. Francis girls complete dream season

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Nine other teams claim Regional titles in California</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top teams finishing dreams seasons and underdogs pulling off upsets ended the California High School girls soccer season. Among those teams finishing dream seasons was St. Francis-Mountain View. The Lancers went 25-1, won the Open Division of the Central Coast Section and NorCal State title. They beat excellent teams on their way to both, going through some of the top teams in California.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Division I in Southern California saw the favorite win it as well, but there were plenty of lower seeds winning in the other divisions. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DIVISION I</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northern California - St. Francis 1, Carondelet 0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore defender [player_tooltip player_id='70549' first='Gianna' last='Nurisso'] called it a dream season for the Lancers, and it really was that. The Lancers lost a game in mid-December that coach Carlos Barboza classified as a blessing. From that point, St. Francis didn't have to think about an undefeated season, but instead could focus on the important goals, which were a Central Coast Section Open Division and NorCal Division I State title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Check and check.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Francis ended the year with 19 straight wins, and really saved the most dramatic for last, beating a very good Carondelet team in dramatic fashion. [player_tooltip player_id='19685' first='Kaya' last='Rosa'] scored a goal just two minutes from time as her 78th minute strike sent shockwaves through the Lancer side, which ended in euphoria when the final whistle blew. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rosa won a clearance in the Carondelet half, took on and beat four defenders from the 30 and got just inside the box and had a moment of genius when she buried the ball in the upper left part of the goal for the match-winner.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We all really just can't believe how great this season went," Barboza said. "We had aspirations of winning an Open Division title, which we'd never done before. But the girls didn't really celebrate too much after that win, because they were so focused on winning this next one."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When the final whistle blew, the Lancers could finally exhale.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We were finally able to take a deep breath and enjoy the hard work," Barboza said. "I could tell from their faces they did what they came to do. It's a special thing and things like this don't happen that often."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rosa and junior captain [player_tooltip player_id='20246' first='Sophie' last='Murdock'] kept the team motivated and focused all year. Rosa stepped up with the goal in this match, and Murdock was an unsung hero, marking Carondelet stud [player_tooltip player_id='41229' first='Lauren' last='Kenny'], who is Oregon bound, and really disrupting the Cougar attack. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Southern California - Santa Margarita 1, Los Alamitos 0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let the debate rage as to who should be No. 1 in the State after St. Francis and Santa Margarita win Regional titles. The Eagles held their end of the bargain, topping Los Al 1-0 thanks to a set piece goal by [player_tooltip player_id='19406' first='Faith' last='George'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Santa Margarita beat the Griffins for the second time in the playoffs, topping them in the Southern Section Division I final, and ends the year with a 22-2-2 mark.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DIVISION II</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northern California - Marin Academy 1, Branson 0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two schools are separated by 2.5 miles and both entered the NorCal playoffs with chips on their shoulders after being awarded the last two seeds. It was also a repeat of the North Coast Section final that saw Branson beat Marin Academy by a score of 3-1.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wildcats got pay back in the NorCal final, thanks to mainstays Cat Zola and [player_tooltip player_id='19497' first='Imogen' last='Jenkyn']. Jenkyn set Zola up for the lone goal as the Wildcats finally beat a Branson team that had beat it in two NorCal finals and the recent NCS final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was the first ever NorCal title for Marin Academy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Southern California - Hart-Newhall 4, San Marcos 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexis Nguyen had a hat trick for Hart as it finished the season with 19 wins and went through as the top seed to claim the title. Charlotte Curtis added a goal and [player_tooltip player_id='20003' first='Natalie' last='Mejia'] had two assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hart also won the Southern Section title, beating Harvard-Westlake 1-0 in the Division II final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DIVISION III</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northern California - Christian Brothers 1, Cardinal Newman 1</strong> <strong>(Christian Brothers win 5-4 in PK's)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Christian Brothers capped a 20-win season, put three trophies in the trophy case after getting past Cardinal Newman in penalties. After a league and Section crown, the Falcons used a goal from [player_tooltip player_id='19213' first='Brooklyn' last='Horst'] to get to overtime, then a penalty save by Grace Bettencourt led to Lily Jensen burying her penalty and Christian Brothers claiming the crown. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Southern California - Moorpark 2, Marina 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='20336' first='Zaina' last='Barakat'] scored a golden goal in the fifth minute of overtime to claim the Regional title for the Musketeers. Barakat played a role in the first goal as well, sending in a corner kick that led to a goal from Kamryn Beaver. Marina tied it up as the game eventually went to extra time, thanks to a goal from Riley Crosby.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DIVISION IV</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northern California - Mira Monte-Bakersfield 1, Colfax 0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Angie Rodriguez scored a second half goal and a Lions team that traveled over 700 miles for three road games made the long journey to Colfax to claim the NorCal title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Southern California - Hemet 2, Crean Lutheran 0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The fifth-seeded Bulldogs completed their run through the SoCal bracket, winning three road games, topping top-seeded El Rancho and blanking the Saints. Hemet got revenge after losing to the Saints 1-0 in the Southern Section Division V final. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='73009' first='Bridget' last='Arnold'] scored both goals for Hemet.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DIVISION V</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northern California - Hollister 1, Lowell 0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top-seeded Haybalers claimed the NorCal title with a 1-0 win over No. 2 seeded Lowell, capping off a 15-win season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Southern California - Carter 1, Ramona 0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='111133' first='Maya' last='Davis'] scored the lone goal as the Lions were able to top the same Ramona team that beat them in the Southern Section Division VI final just over a week before. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->