GIRLS SOCCER: Late Game Heroics Help Los Altos Defeat Leigh

Los Altos 2, Leigh 2 (LA 5-4 PK’s)

The Star: Los Altos junior Sasha Pchenitchnikova scored one goal and assisted on another, helping her team fend off elimination and move on to Saturday’s Central Coast Section Girls Soccer quarterfinals. Pchenitchnikova snuck in a goal into the right corner of the cage two minutes into the second half to tie things up at one, then struck a beautiful free kick bender that setup the game tying goal in the final minute of play. The free kick flew around the Leigh wall of defenders and landed in the goalie box. Senior defender Hannah Moehling poked the loose ball behind the diving Leigh keeper to even things up at 2-2 with only seconds left in the 80-minute affair.

The Turning Point: Two minutes after Los Altos (8-5-7) tied the game up at one early in the second stanza, Leigh (12-4-4) quickly answered with a world-class scoring strike from junior forward Hayley Wilson in the 44th minute. The Eagles may have been trailing yet again, but the feisty group wouldn’t go away without a fight. Los Altos marked up and started winning battles in the midfield. The increased ball pressure forced rushed passes by the host Longhorns. Pchenitchnikova banged a high-flying shot from outside the 40-yard line off the cross bar in the 78th minute, but was rewarded two minutes later with the game tying assist.

The Quotes:  “It’s absolutely amazing,” Pchenitchnikova said after her team survived 80-minutes of regulation, two 10-minute periods of overtime and five rounds of penalty kicks before earning the first round playoff triumph. “We gave it everything we had. I was hoping to bend the shot in on my last free kick. I’m glad it found its way in the net.”

 During the penalty kick round, the Eagles got a big lift right out of the gates when starting goalie Chita Maldonado saved a Leigh shot attempt. The clutch stop was the lone save of the afternoon during the pressure cooker penalty kick session.

 “That was such a lift for us,” Pchenitchnikova said about her goalies big save. “She (Maldonado) kept us in the game. It definitely took some of the pressure off us knowing that we got a stop early in the PK’s.”

 What's Next? Los Altos, the No. 9 seed in the Division II field, will square off against No. 1 seed Aragon High-San Mateo on Saturday in the quarters. The time and venue of the matchup are still to be determined.

Bottom Line: It may have given Los Altos head coach Erin Montoya a mini-heartache to get there, but the stirring comeback victory left everyone wearing blue-and-white with a big smile on their face. Sydney Carr, Moehling, Pchenitchnikova, Lauren Safai and Isabelle Lefebvre each scored in the shootout for the Eagles.

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