GIRLS SOCCER: Woodside Ousted in CCS Semis

The Score: Mountain View 2, Woodside 1.

The Star: Woodside High forward Taylor Duffner capped a sparkling four-year career with one last vintage performance as her team was eliminated in the Central Coast Section Division I semifinals at Valley Christian High. The U.C. Davis-bound senior scored on a beautiful header off a Caitlin Brandman corner kick to give the seventh-seeded Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the 12^th minute. No. 3 Mountain View (14-2-6) allotted three defenders to the dangerous Duffner for much of Wednesday night’s game.

The Turning Point: Woodside’s defensive breakdown which resulted in Mountain View’s go-ahead goal about 10 minutes into the second half. After a bouncing header came back toward the middle of the field, a Wildcat defender mistimed her clearance and instead saw the ball get past her. Then a Mountain View player beat Woodside sweeper Emma Danz and goalie Lily Garza to the ball and chipped it over the top. Though it didn’t appear to be a shot, the ball bounced a couple times and slowly rolled into the net. Woodside controlled the final 20 minutes, registering multiple corner kicks and free kicks, but couldn’t net the equalizer.

The Quote: “Last year … we knew anything less than getting to the final would be a disappointment. This year, we had no idea what the heck was going to happen. This year was just a lot sweeter of an accomplishment. … I’m really proud of the way we matured in the end.” – Wildcats coach Jose Navarrete, comparing his teams of the last two years.

What’s Next? Woodside’s season is finished.

The Bottom Line: After some shaky moments in an uneven regular season, Woodside (12-7-3) played its best soccer at the end and acquitted itself well in the CCS playoffs for the second year in a row. The Wildcats beat Leland 2-0 and topped a 14-2-4 Gilroy squad on the road in a penalty-kick shootout in the quarterfinals. Then Woodside, which entered the week slotted No. 7 in , gave No. 2 Mountain View all it could handle in the semifinals, including landing the first blow. “I didn’t think we could really trade punches with them,” a pleased Navarrete said. … Spartans star Kirsten Belinsky scored on a powerful free kick from about 20 yards one minute before halftime. … Mountain View gained a measure of payback after being eliminated by the Wildcats in the previous two postseasons – in PK’s in the 2009 quarterfinals and in the semifinals last year. … Duffner’s ability and phenomenal work rate will be “impossible” to replace, according to Navarrete. The PAL Bay Division forward of the year tallied 11 goals in 13 league games. … Lily Tapia, Brandman, Garza and Danz joined Duffner in forming a senior core whose dedication landed unusual commendation from Navarrete. … The future looks quite promising. Woodside started four freshmen on Wednesday and two others saw significant time. Poised left fullback Gianna Rosati is a budding star and midfielder/forward Heather Seybert possesses nice versatility and is tactically sound. … The PAL Bay team will not boast a section champion for the first time since 2007, and just the second time since 2004. Despite fielding very strong teams in the past four years, Woodside is not one of the four PAL Bay programs to win a CCS title over the last six years. Carlmont and Burlingame won two apiece, and Aragon forged a co-championship last year.

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Mountain View 2, Woodside 1

At Valley Christian

Scoring: W: Duffner (Brandman) 12:00, MV Belinsky (FK) 39:00, MV: 50:00.

Records: Woodside 12-7-3. Mountain View 14-2-6.