GIRLS SOCCER: San Mateo Becoming a Force

The Score: San Mateo 1, Burlingame 1.

The Star: San Mateo High’s Shannon Wischer ignited her team’s second-half surge that resulted in a hard-earned draw against visiting Burlingame. Wischer moved between three positions and maneuvered free to deliver a cross that Katelyn Turtletaub punched in to tie the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division game in the 53^rd minute.

The Turning Point: A disallowed San Mateo goal off Katelyn Turtletaub’s 30-yard free kick in the 32^nd minute that appeared to knot the game at 1. An assistant referee signaled that the Bearcats had scored as diving Burlingame goalie Leila Torres couldn’t quite stop the ball in time, but the head referee overturned the call. Had the original ruling stood, San Mateo may well have walked away with a signature PAL Bay victory.

The Quote: "They’re committed – I think that’s the word. I think that’s what works when we’re competing against the Burlingames and Woodsides, because they’re big, physical teams. – San Mateo coach Daire O’Connor, on the quality that has helped the Bearcats prosper thus far in the rough-and-tumble PAL Bay.

What's Next? San Mateo hosts Terra Nova on Thursday at 3 p.m.

The Bottom Line: The Bearcats gave Burlingame, a perennial PAL Bay power, a spirited challenge – and came within a disallowed goal of pocketing an impressive victory. San Mateo scored the first goal the Panthers have allowed in the league season, and had several other good looks. But Burlingame’s superior possession helped the visitors generate at least as many true threats. A tie seemed the appropriate result. Both second-place Burlingame and third-place San Mateo fell further behind league-leading Woodside, a 4-0 winner over visiting Hillsdale.

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The San Mateo High girls soccer team has been turning heads all season.

After moving up from the Peninsula Athletic League’s Ocean Division following their championship last season, the Bearcats haven’t followed the usual path of newcomers to the PAL Bay – to struggle amidst the physical play and superior soccer ability of the top-tier teams and risk relegation back to the lower division the following year.

Rather, this San Mateo unit has thrived after its promotion – and has played its way into any discussion of the Bay contenders.

The Bearcats (5-2-2, 3-1-1 PAL Bay) burst onto the scene with a 2-1 non-league win over Woodside – the Bay’s undefeated champion and a Central Coast Section runner-up last year – in the Burlingame Winter Showcase. Then last week, San Mateo prevailed 1-0 over Aragon – a defending CCS co-champion – in the teams’ first league meeting.

When Burlingame (6-2-2, 3-0-2) came to town on Tuesday afternoon, the Bearcats took aim at an impressive trifecta – recording wins over the PAL Bay’s top-three finishers a year ago, all perennial powers.

That effort fell short as San Mateo battled the visiting Panthers to a 1-1 draw, but the Bearcats’ early success suggest that this program will be a factor in the PAL Bay race. The Bearcats, who lost 2-0 to Bay-leading Woodside on Jan. 11 in a league game, remain one point behind second-place Burlingame

“We’re in third (place) right now, but we can play with everyone,” San Mateo’s Shannon Wischer said. “We can play with them easily.”

The Bearcats gave Burlingame fits at the outset, as star forward Katelyn Turtletaub repeatedly put the heat on Panthers goalie Leila Torres. Equally impressive was how San Mateo recovered from back-to-back blows it suffered toward the end of the first half.

First, the Bearcats – who owned a clear advantage on quality scoring chances at that point – fell behind 1-0 on Burlingame’s first corner kick, as Claire Mulligan punched in Lena Mendelson’s well-placed ball at the far post in the 28^th minute.

"It was a really awkward shot. It ended up coming off my thighs,” Mulligan said.

Four minutes later, San Mateo appeared to tie the game when Torres couldn’t handle a 30-yard free kick from Turtletaub – diving to her right as the ball slid toward the goal line. An assistant referee signaled ‘goal,’ but the head referee overruled him – saying that Torres saved the ball in time -- to leave the Bearcats trailing 1-0.

Burlingame seemed intent on adding to its lead early in the second half -- the visitors had a flurry that included three wide-open looks at the San Mateo net.

Bearcats coach Daire O’Connor and Wischer both said San Mateo’s possession in the midfield was lacking in this game – and Burlingame’s poised and physical midfielders certainly played a role in that.

“We turned the ball over a bit too much at times,” O’Connor said.

But after Bearcats goalie Karyn Jacobs saved a Catherine Carey shot, San Mateo broke through at the other end.

Turtletaub, doggedly battling shoulder and ankle injuries, delivered a lead ball to Wischer in the left corner. Wischer cut in and sent a cross a few yards away from the goal. Turtletaub out-muscled a defender to collect possession close to the far post, and the forward volleyed her shot into the right corner of the net to knot the game at 1 in the 53^rd minute.

In the final two minutes, both teams earned a corner kick. San Mateo had a fantastic look as Monica de Leon had an open header on Wischer’s service, but the shot sailed high. Then Mendelson’s low corner for Burlingame sailed through traffic moments before the final whistle blew.

Afterward, O’Connor said the draw seemed fair. And five games into the PAL Bay season, the San Mateo coach sounded quite pleased with his team’s development – highlighting the Bearcats “mental focus.”

“They’re working really hard for me now,” he concluded.

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 Burlingame 1, San Mateo 1

At San Mateo

Scoring: B: C. Mulligan (Mendelson) 28:00, SM: Turtletaub (Wischer) 53:00.

Records: Burlingame 6-2-2, 3-0-2 PAL Bay. San Mateo 5-2-2, 3-1-1.