The final league match could be a prelude to a CCS title match

<p>Another Epic matchup between the two heavyweights in the D1 West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL).  This was the second time these teams met in league play.  The Bellarmine Bells won the first round match in Archbishop Mitty's stadium by a score of 3-1.  The Mitty Monarchs looked to even the score on the Bells home turf during Senior Night.  The Monarchs came into this game as the 118th ranked team in CA and a 3rd place standing of (6-3-4).   The Bells were the 21st ranked team in CA and held the 1st place standing of (11-0-2).  </p>   <p>Like any other time these teams square up, rankings are put to the side and each team is gonna “take it to the house” or bring the intensity mostly seen in championship matches.  Of course, both teams definitely brought their “A” game.  The match was played with speed, beautiful combination passes, and the physicality usually seen at the college level.  Hard challenges and superb technical skills were highlighted throughout the match.  Both teams made quality runs and took quality shots on goal, but the goalkeepers on each side put on a goalkeeping clinic.  Both Lars Nuenfinger and Drew McClelland showed their shot-stopping skills and kept their team in the match.</p>   <p>The Bells Matthew Shimizu scored the opening goal during the first seven minutes of the first half.  The build up and finish was beautiful as 6 other players got a touch after a transition from outside of the 18 yard box.  Both teams went at it in the first half, but the score remained 1-0 in the half.  At the opening of the 2nd half, it was evident that Mitty was gonna make a push to even the series.  They applied high pressure after a bouncing cross was stopped just outside of the 18, and a Mitty player went hard and flicked the ball to Dylan DeGuzman.  DeGuzman quickly pulled the ball to his left and fired a left footed shot towards the far post.  The goalkeeper got a touch, but it was just out of his reach.  </p>   <p>About 11 minutes later, during the final 13 minutes of regulation time, Jonah Guardino got the winning goal from a Neunfinger punt. Lars punted it near midfield and the ball skipped once before another BCP player flicked it past the defense. Guardino got past a defender and sent the ball to the opposite post as the goalkeeper came out to cut off his angle. It was a beautiful goal as it showed that in a “blink of an eye” or within 7 seconds it was all the time needed to get the go ahead goal.</p>   <p>Although the result of this match could have put a damper on senior night, the Bells still retained their 1st place standing going into the CCS (Central Coast Section) tournament.  Now that the brackets for the Division 1 CCS is set, we may not have seen the last of this matchup as BCP is the #1 and Mitty is the #2 seed.  If both teams win their first two matches, they will meet on Thursday (2-27-25) in the D1 Championship match.</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">His ability to track the speedy forwards helped his team to reduce quality shots on goal. He made good decisions when stepping into lanes. Showed his ability to square up players and push them to their weak side. He understands when a forward is about to make diagonal runs and either stays with his mark or switches with another center back. He plays club soccer for Almaden FC.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Marked [player_tooltip player_id='277899' first='Gregory' last='Gutierrez'], one of the fastest forwards in the league. He didn't back down and challenged for loose ball possession. He was able to contain attackers during 1v1s and waited for support. Overall, he made good decisions when facing runners in the channels. He stood them up and cut off angled runs in the box. He also made some quality runs in the attacking third. He plays club soccer for Santa Clara Sporting.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Made some key shot-stopping saves. His ability to get low and make diving saves is somewhat impressive for a person his size. He stood tall in the box and made some booming punts from the back. Most of his punts hit near the 40-yard line on the opposite field. One of his most impressive plays was his punt from the back, which skipped once before another teammate flicked it past a defender. Jonah Guardino ran past the last defender and sent the ball to the far left post as the goalkeeper came out to cut off his angle.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Led the backline for the majority of the match but timed his runs when pushing the ball up front from the backfield. He quickly got his defense to transition into counterattacks. His hard tackles and quick ball made it difficult for his opponents to slip through the middle. He also contributed to the Mitty attack by slicing through the midfield and making precise passes to players running into open spaces.</p>    <p><a href="https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/1892421408568824109">https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/1892421408568824109</a></p>   <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/1892448724930142396 </div></figure>   <p><a href="https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/1892458570962157995">https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/1892458570962157995</a></p>   <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/1892399701783400720 </div></figure>   <p><a href="https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/1892408447687414075">https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/1892408447687414075</a></p>   <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>

Another Epic matchup between the two heavyweights in the D1 West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL). This was the second time these teams met in league play. The Bellarmine Bells won the first round match in Archbishop Mitty's stadium by a score of 3-1. The Mitty Monarchs looked to even the score on the Bells home turf during Senior Night. The Monarchs came into this game as the 118th ranked team in CA and a 3rd place standing of (6-3-4). The Bells were the 21st ranked team in CA and held the 1st place standing of (11-0-2).