Girls Outshoot Opponent for CCS Title
After a season full of competition, the girls’ soccer team wins the CCS championship.
By Katie Scripoch
After a season full of competition, the girls’ soccer team wins the CCS championship.
By Katie Scripoch
On February 26, the varsity girls’ soccer team won their first Central Coast Section title in Division III, the seventh CCS title for Pioneer High School.
The game against Abraham Lincoln High School was tied 0-0 at the end of regulation play. A winning kick from sophomore Taylor Farnum won the shootout 4-3 for the Mustangs.
“I was just excited to be there and happy knowing that even if we lost we had already gotten this far. I was mostly thinking that we had nothing to lose and I just didn’t want to let my team down,” said Farnum.
In the games prior to the CCS championship, Pioneer defeated Henry T. Gunderson High School with a score of 6-0 and San Mateo High School with a score of 2-0. Goalkeeper Alyssa Szarlacki, 12, is proud of the team for the history that they made this year.
“They were well-fought games and we came out on top over both of them and I believe that gave us confidence in finally getting that CCS win,” said Szarlacki.
During the week leading up to the championship game, the team practiced as they normally would and took it easy so they could rest and recover in order to not injure themselves before it. While in the team room, Daya Kumaran, 11, and the rest of the team listened to music to prepare for the game.
“Since we practiced the penalty kicks earlier during the week, our coach had a good idea of who he wanted to take the kicks and the team knew how to stay composed when taking the shot,” said Kumaran. “We wanted to get pumped up for the game and get into the right mindset to win.”
Mia Boscarino, 12, felt that it was obvious that Pioneer wanted to win and seeing the crowd only made them that much more excited to play.
“It was the biggest crowd that showed up for one of our games so personally I was nervous but I think it ended up encouraging us to play even better,” said Boscarino.
After the team played well for the entire game, all of the athletes, including Annalyce Upton, 11, were focused on scoring a penalty kick to win the game.
“The other team had made three of their shots and so had we, but with one more kicker to go. The ref came over to us and said ‘if she makes this, you guys get to go crazy’ and sure enough Taylor Farnum took that last shot and won us the championship,” said Upton.
This season, the team competed in the Mount Hamilton Division, the top of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, leading to a lot of difficult competition and close games. Head coach Justin Stopps was proud at how the girls had played all season and even more excited for them when they won CCS.
“The girls have been fantastic all season and to win a first CCS championship for girls’ soccer means that the team has made a little bit of history,” said Stopps.
After facing many obstacles throughout the season, the team pushed through them all and ended with a good outcome. The team has consistently made it to CCS in past years, but for athletes like Ashley Carter, 11, the win feels all the more rewarding as she has been on the team for the past few years not yet having the chance to experience a win this big.
“There were a few challenges we had to go through this season which included things like a COVID breakout throughout the team, some injuries and very competitive competition this season,” said Carter.
First-year Pioneer athlete Farnum said she quickly made new friends with her teammates and helped the team win their first CCS title.
“My favorite memory was scoring the CCS championship penalty kick. Everyone was super happy and the players just immediately ran towards me and we all had a group hug,” said Farnum.
The girls’ soccer team had a strong 2021-22 season, with a final record of 15-6-5, becoming CCS champions, and qualifying for the California Interscholastic Federation NorCal Division IV Championship. Stopps is confident that the soccer program will continue to succeed in upcoming seasons.
“I think the future is very bright for the Pioneer girls’ soccer team, we have a relatively young team with four freshmen on the roster and with the JV team also having a successful season I believe that we can continue to be competitive next season,” said Stopps.
The game against Abraham Lincoln High School was tied 0-0 at the end of regulation play. A winning kick from sophomore Taylor Farnum won the shootout 4-3 for the Mustangs.
“I was just excited to be there and happy knowing that even if we lost we had already gotten this far. I was mostly thinking that we had nothing to lose and I just didn’t want to let my team down,” said Farnum.
In the games prior to the CCS championship, Pioneer defeated Henry T. Gunderson High School with a score of 6-0 and San Mateo High School with a score of 2-0. Goalkeeper Alyssa Szarlacki, 12, is proud of the team for the history that they made this year.
“They were well-fought games and we came out on top over both of them and I believe that gave us confidence in finally getting that CCS win,” said Szarlacki.
During the week leading up to the championship game, the team practiced as they normally would and took it easy so they could rest and recover in order to not injure themselves before it. While in the team room, Daya Kumaran, 11, and the rest of the team listened to music to prepare for the game.
“Since we practiced the penalty kicks earlier during the week, our coach had a good idea of who he wanted to take the kicks and the team knew how to stay composed when taking the shot,” said Kumaran. “We wanted to get pumped up for the game and get into the right mindset to win.”
Mia Boscarino, 12, felt that it was obvious that Pioneer wanted to win and seeing the crowd only made them that much more excited to play.
“It was the biggest crowd that showed up for one of our games so personally I was nervous but I think it ended up encouraging us to play even better,” said Boscarino.
After the team played well for the entire game, all of the athletes, including Annalyce Upton, 11, were focused on scoring a penalty kick to win the game.
“The other team had made three of their shots and so had we, but with one more kicker to go. The ref came over to us and said ‘if she makes this, you guys get to go crazy’ and sure enough Taylor Farnum took that last shot and won us the championship,” said Upton.
This season, the team competed in the Mount Hamilton Division, the top of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, leading to a lot of difficult competition and close games. Head coach Justin Stopps was proud at how the girls had played all season and even more excited for them when they won CCS.
“The girls have been fantastic all season and to win a first CCS championship for girls’ soccer means that the team has made a little bit of history,” said Stopps.
After facing many obstacles throughout the season, the team pushed through them all and ended with a good outcome. The team has consistently made it to CCS in past years, but for athletes like Ashley Carter, 11, the win feels all the more rewarding as she has been on the team for the past few years not yet having the chance to experience a win this big.
“There were a few challenges we had to go through this season which included things like a COVID breakout throughout the team, some injuries and very competitive competition this season,” said Carter.
First-year Pioneer athlete Farnum said she quickly made new friends with her teammates and helped the team win their first CCS title.
“My favorite memory was scoring the CCS championship penalty kick. Everyone was super happy and the players just immediately ran towards me and we all had a group hug,” said Farnum.
The girls’ soccer team had a strong 2021-22 season, with a final record of 15-6-5, becoming CCS champions, and qualifying for the California Interscholastic Federation NorCal Division IV Championship. Stopps is confident that the soccer program will continue to succeed in upcoming seasons.
“I think the future is very bright for the Pioneer girls’ soccer team, we have a relatively young team with four freshmen on the roster and with the JV team also having a successful season I believe that we can continue to be competitive next season,” said Stopps.