Girls soccer: San Rafael falls 1-0 to Sonoma Valley in NCS championship

SONOMA >> San Rafael High can finally fill a gap that has been bothering girls soccer head coach Nichole Caiocca.

“I work on campus so I spend a lot of time in our gym looking at all the banners and I noticed there’s nothing for girls soccer,” Caiocca said.

The Bulldogs took turns holding the banner during the ceremony following Saturday’s North Coast Section Division IV championship, although no one seemed satisfied with the pennant that read “second”.

“It’s great to bring this pennant back home, although obviously we wish it said first place,” Caiocca said after a 1-0 loss to host Sonoma Valley. “Still, this is just momentous for us as a program and for the school.”

The Bulldogs’ historic season is set to continue in the NorCal Regional playoffs, pending Sunday’s seeding meeting.

“I’m just so proud of this team and this season, and the community that continues to come out to support us,” Caiocca said. “San Rafael is a special place with the leadership we have on this team.”

No. 6 San Rafael (15-9-0) won its previous two playoff matches on penalty kicks to secure a berth in the finals for the first time in program history.

San Rafael finished seventh during the regular season against a stacked MCAL, but a six-game win streak against non-league competition early in the season helped boost the Bulldogs’ playoff hopes.

“Seeing all the talent on this team and all the young girls making bonds, as soon as we started winning in the preseason, I knew we were heading toward NCS,” Bulldogs senior co-captain Mirabelle Szilagyi said. “I knew there was an opportunity. It’s kind of surreal to be here.”

The Bulldogs appeared ready to take Saturday’s final against No. 4 Sonoma Valley (10-8-5) to penalty kicks, if necessary, after the first half ended in a scoreless draw. But Dragons junior Brianna Jurasek slipped a wild shot into the San Rafael net in the second half. The Sonoma Valley defense held off the Bulldogs attack for the final 33 minutes to clinch the Dragons’ first NCS championship.

“Big players come up with big plays, so credit to (Jurasek),” Caiocca said. “She made something out of nothing.”

Sonoma Valley used its apparent size advantage as the Dragons muscled up on the attack from the get go. The Dragons, with three corners, outshot the Bulldogs 8-4 in the first half. But Sonoma Valley came up empty against the aggressive play from San Rafael senior keeper Emely Chacon.

“My team knows how to support me,” Chacon said. “They know I can’t get to every ball, but we tried to play for each other. … The main thing that has been developing this season is our connection to each other. Soccer is all mental and our chemistry that we have on the field is unmatched. No other team that I’ve been on has had this type of energy. We genuinely know how to play for each other.”

Crisp passing and a speedy press from forwards Ryder Higgins-Jones and Joselin Romero gave the Bulldogs some good looks at the Sonoma Valley net. But unrelenting pressure from Dragons defensemen Callie Diggins and Lindsay Bilberry frustrated the Bulldogs.

“I think we had some really great combinations trying to get into those wide spaces, but couldn’t quite get on the end of it. But we had chances,” Caiocca said.

Sophomore Jaela Brown danced her way up the sideline to give the Bulldogs a solid opportunity early in the second half, but the Dragons defense drove her deep into the corner until Brown ran out of room to take her shot.

The Dragons finally broke the stalemate less than 15 minutes into the second half. Sonoma Valley drove the ball deep in front of the San Rafael net. Jurasek was falling to the turf as she battled the Bulldogs for control of the ball. Chacon was racing out to control the ball, but Jurasek managed to connect on a shot that rolled past Chacon. With no one in position to back up Chacon, the ball just rolled gently into the net.

“Each ball, I said in my head, ‘It’s mine, it’s mine, it’s mine,’” said Chacon, who finished with eight saves. “The ball that got past me, I was thinking that was mine. You can’t get every ball, I suppose. I just didn’t think that was going to happen. But I think we did the best we could in the moment.”

With time on the clock, the Bulldogs poured their energy into moving the ball upfield, looking for the tying shot.

“In the last two games, we were up 1-0 and the other teams came back to tie it in the last few minutes, but we still won. So we knew we could come back. We knew it was possible,” San Rafael senior co-captain Arlin Guzman said. “There were moments there when it definitely seemed like we were going to do this, we were going to score. Time was just against us.”

The game took its toll on the Bulldogs, emotionally and physically, as a few tears were shed during a postgame meeting. But the Bulldogs refused to dwell on the last, preferring to focus on the future.

“This game sets the bar high for this program,” Guzman said. “I think this just gives us more motivation for the younger girls to carry on this legacy.”