Stockdale girls win first soccer festival
| Sunday, Dec 21 2008 01:54 AM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 01:50 PM
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Liberty forward Summer Chavez attempts to center the ball near the goal as Stockdale defenders Erica Villa and Caitlin Witwer defend during the premier division finals of the Garces Holiday Soccer Festival at the Kern County Soccer Park.
Before this weekend's Garces Holiday Soccer Festival, Stockdale girls coach Janien McGowan said (a) she wasn't sure how good her young team was and (b) she definitely didn't know how it would stack up against local competition.
If this weekend is any indication, the Mustangs ended finals week with a couple of well-earned A's.
Stockdale, playing with just three seniors, tied Bakersfield and Liberty and then beat both in penalty kicks to win the prestigious Garces tourney for the first time in school history Saturday at the Kern County Soccer Park.
"We didn't know how good we were," senior Michelle Spinner said. "We're just really young, but we practice really hard."
The title, which came 2-1 on penalty kicks after a scoreless tie with Liberty in the Premier Division championship game, was significant for two reasons.
For one, it proved that Stockdale (6-1-3) will remain a force to be reckoned with despite its youth. The team lost the co-Californian Players of the Year among nine seniors from last year's team.
But the Mustangs were equal with both Bakersfield, whom they tied 1-1, and Liberty, and they beat both on penalty kicks. Defending Central Section champion Clovis-Buchanan was knocked out by Liberty 1-0 in the semifinals.
"It was very intense, I'm not going to lie," senior Melody Jorgensen said. "I'm just glad we came out on top. I love it."
Reason No. 2 is Stockdale's history. The Mustangs count three second-place finishes in the Central Section in their history, but no titles. As Garces athletic director Vince Fanucchi handed over the trophy, he remarked how this tournament is often a precursor to the result of the playoffs. Cheers erupted from the Stockdale players.
"If you would have said yesterday that we were going to win the Garces tournament, I would have said, 'Nah, we've got a lot of work to do,'" Stockdale coach Janien McGowan said. "They're not close to what we were last year. But there's not one player who's going to make a difference on a team. And they understand the team concept."
As for Liberty, it nearly pulled off a remarkable feat by beating both section finalists from a year ago in the same afternoon. The Patriots got a goal from Daisy Hernandez to knock off Buchanan, then fought Stockdale in a well-played game in which both teams had great scoring chances but couldn't capitalize. And it was Liberty that blinked in the shootout.
"We played really well the first game against Buchanan, stepping up to the pressure," first-year Liberty coach Lorne Howlett said. "Then in the second game, we had some opportunities and didn't put them in."
Buchanan beat Bakersfield 7-1 for third place.
In Premier Division boys action, both Bakersifeld and Stockdale lost in the semifinals, BHS 3-0 to Buchanan and Stockdale 1-0 to Fresno-Central. Stockdale nipped Bakersfield 1-0 for third while Buchanan beat Central on PKs after a 1-1 draw.
Golden Valley (13-0-2), which lost in a shootout to Central in the first round Friday, cruised through the consolation bracket, beating Tulare Western 4-1 in the final.
"We knew the first game, Central, was going to be the deciding game," said GVHS coach Troy Lynch, whose team had a goal called back against Central for offside. "But I'm happy with the way we played."
Other division champions were: Porterville in Boys Gold, Arroyo Grande in Girls Gold, Farmersville in Boys Silver, Bakersfield Christian in Girls Silver, Fresno-McLane in Boys Bronze, Taft in Girls Bronze, Mammoth Lakes in Boys Iron and Fresno-Bullard JV in Girls Iron.
