The Lady Pointers soccer team completed an outstanding season with a tense, gutsy and physical 1-0 victory over Valhalla in the CIF Div. II championship game March 7 at Madison High School.
The victory had added sweetness since Valhalla was the No. 1 seed with the Pointers receiving the No. 2 nod.
Before each match, the Lady Pointers recite a chant which includes the phrase “We can’t be beat,” and that proved almost always to be the case as they soared to a 21-2-3 overall record and 8-0 mark to dominate the City League.
The title win marked the team’s 14th consecutive victory
The girls soccer team follows the girls basketball team (Div. IV) and girls volleyball team (Div. I) as the third girls team to bring home a CIF championship in the last 12 months.
In the 70th minute on the match, hard-charging junior striker Jordan Patane was fouled in the penalty box by a Valhalla defender, which led to a penalty kick. Senior team co-captain Taylor Hopkins was selected to take the resulting penalty shot.
Hopkins approached the ball and drilled a blast into the left side of the net, past the outstretched arms of the Valhalla goalkeeper for the only score of the game.
The Pointer bench and fans erupted in cheers as the pressure immediately fell on the Norsemen, who furiously fought to tie the game before the referee’s whistle signaled the end of the match.
“I always go left (with my shot),” Hopkins said, amid a raucous on-field celebration by hundreds of Pointer students, parents and fans who came to support the team. “The goaltender looked at me and I think she knew I was going to switch sides and go right, so I went left. My heart almost exploded in my chest but everything worked out alright.”
The teams battled to a scoreless tie in the first half, with the Norsemen generating more offense that was repeatedly thwarted by the Pointers’ strong defense.
Halftime adjustments made by the Pointer staff led to greater offensive pressure in the second half, and it was during such a Pointer attack that Patane was taken down, leading to the game-winning shot.
“I thought we showed a lot of composure and poise for a younger team,” an elated head coach John Murphy said. “We tactically did what we needed to do, and we’ve been a second-half team all year.”
Lady Pointers co-captain Cassidy Campe, a senior who turned in an outstanding effort on defense, and high-scoring junior striker Riley O’Toole, both had to sit out part of the second half after receiving yellow cards as contact noticeably increased. Both returned after the mandated sideline time.
Shortly before Hopkins’ laser, the Pointers nearly netted a goal on a 66th minute free kick that landed at the feet of freshman defender Abigail Bates. She sent a strong shot on goal, but Valhalla’s goalkeeper scooped it up. The future looks bright for these Lady Pointers, as the team returns all but four seniors. Their championship roster includes four freshmen, nine sophomores and four juniors.
Murphy, who was surrounded by some of his celebrating players while others snuck up from behind and dumped a huge container of ice on him, is well aware of his roster’s future.
“From the start of the year we’ve shown a lot of improvement,” said Murphy. “These kids are very coachable and I think there’s a lot more to come. We had 13 underclass kids out there, it was a nice blend, and they meshed really well with the four seniors (Hopkins, Campe, Audrey Herrin-Warner and Zoe Bodie) who have tremendous leadership skills.”
Murphy also revealed why his girls were in such great physical shape, allowing them to run for extended periods of time and not tire.
“We are so fit, the kids train all year, and they love those Point Loma hills!” Murphy said with a grin. Extra points:
-Two players missed the title game. Junior Natasha Camacho-Bier (concussion symptoms) and sophomore Makenna Peter (ankle injury) cheered their teammates from the sideline.
-The girls’ earned a trip to the finals with a first-round bye, a 4-1 win over Christian and a 2-0 victory over Grossmont.
-The Pointers and Norsemen previously met Jan. 9 at Point Loma, the game ending in a 0-0 tie.
-Hopkins also was presented the game’s Sportsmanship Award.
-The last CIF title for the Lady Pointers was in 2009 when they defeated Mt. Carmel 2-1 in a game that went to penalty kicks after a scoreless overtime.
-Murphy built upon already strong team bonding, holding an early afternoon run-through on the Lady Pointers home field followed by a team meal at Panera Bread in Liberty Station.