Girls soccer: San Rafael secures long-awaited win in MCAL playoffs

The San Rafael High girls soccer team has grown accustomed to making history over the past two seasons and had an opportunity to make more when it hosted Archie Williams for an MCAL playoff game on Tuesday night.

The Bulldogs hadn’t made the league playoffs in at least two decades but made the most of their return to the postseason stage as Yasmin Lopez scored from about 35 yards out in the 53rd minute to lift San Rafael to a 1-0 victory.

“I was so happy that she finished that because she is very capable of doing that in practice,” San Rafael coach Nichole Caiocca said. “We see it a lot and I also think that she doesn’t get the recognition that she deserves. She does so much dirty work for us and covers so much ground for us so I was so happy for her to have that big moment for herself.”

The No. 4 Bulldogs (12-1-9) advance to Thursday’s MCAL semifinals to face No. 2 Redwood (8-4-5) in Larkspur. No. 6 Tam (5-11-6) defeated No. 3 Marin Catholic (5-6-6) on penalties in the other game and faces No. 1 Branson (18-1-2) on Thursday.

There’s no record of a San Rafael MCAL playoff win in girls soccer on MaxPreps.com, which goes back to the spring 2007 season. It’s possible the Bulldogs enjoyed some success in the league’s postseason in 2004 when Angie Martinez was the MCAL player of the year.

This current group of Bulldogs made history last season by making it to the program’s first North Coast Section semifinal and final. They checked making the MCAL playoffs off their to-do list last week and crossed winning an MCAL playoff game off on Tuesday.

Lopez provided the game’s decisive moment after an Archie Williams defender cleared a ball out of the 18-yard box but only as far as Lopez, who was positioned centrally about 40 yards from goal. Lopez, a freshman defensive midfielder nicknamed “Jazzy”, took a touch then unleashed a shot from about 35 yards out that ended up in the net for a 1-0 lead.

“I didn’t think it was going to go in to be honest but I’m so glad it did,” Lopez said. “It brought us to 1-0 and that motivated our whole team to just keep going.”

The Bulldogs had seen a couple of potential wins turn into ties after conceding late goals in league play but were determined to see the game out against the Peregrine Falcons (7-9-2).

San Rafael center back Darby Fones blocked a dangerous looking shot by Anya Penwarden in the 75th minute to help goalie Maddy Janzen preserve the clean sheet.

“It was just a great feeling,” Janzen said of the shutout. “It’s raining so you’ve got to stay low to the ground and behind the ball really just to make sure the ball doesn’t slip through anywhere.”

Archie Williams had a couple of long-range set pieces in the waning minutes of the game but was unable to conjure up anything to really stress out San Rafael’s defense.

“We talked a lot about, once you have the lead, just being smart,” Caiocca said. “Getting those clearances and making sure you’re getting your body behind the ball. Darby does such a good job of dictating and Jazzy, too, like telling people where to go and making sure we’re recovering – just trying to get numbers behind the ball as they are trying to push numbers forward.”

Archie Williams put together its best stretch of the game in the final 15 minutes of the first half and looked a genuine threat to score on multiple occasions.

Kalaya Mason had a shot on target in the 30th minute that Janzen went low to make a save on. The Peregrine Falcons were perhaps unfortunate not to be awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box in the 33rd minute as the ball struck a San Rafael center back on the arm.

Archie Williams threatened again in the 34th minute, playing a ball into the 18-yard box that Janzen came off her line to try and collect. The Peregrine Falcons maintained possession but San Rafael defender Brooklyn Cox – one of the Bulldogs’ three highly-regarded freshmen along with Lopez and attacking midfielder Stefani Brandt — came up with a key clearance to prevent them from getting a clean look at the open net.

The Peregrine Falcons’ best chance to score all night came in the 40th minute when Gabi Rode lined up a free kick about 25 yards from goal. Rode’s strike ricocheted off the crossbar and the Bulldogs got into halftime without conceding.

“That was definitely a nerve-wracking moment, like shoot, am I really going to make it there in time?” Janzen said. “It was definitely a relief when it hit the post. It was a great shot, though.”

Tam 1, Marin Catholic 1 (5-3 on PKs)

The Red-tailed Hawks made all of their spot kicks to advance past the Wildcats on penalties in a first-round playoff game on Tuesday.

Lila Campbell, Allegra Andreoli, Mia Bukow, Lauren Willard, and Ava McMahon converted penalties – in that order – to help Tam advance. Tam coach Dave Presher turned to goalie Frankie Gebhard during the shootout.

Tam’s goal in regulation was scored by Clio Kunz and assisted by Willard. The game was tied 1-1 at the half.

MC is expected to be selected when NCS brackets are revealed this weekend. Tam — which faces Branson on Thursday — might need to win the MCAL playoffs and earn the automatic bid to make NCS. The Red-tailed Hawks won the MCAL tournament as the No. 1 seed last season.