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Road trip to Salinas ends in loss for Lady Mustangs
Varsity Soccer
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Sophomore Kaia Cox, 5, was the last Lady Mustang to get a foot on the ball as it snaked past the Colfax keeper during the Thursday night, March 5 contest. Oakdale captured a 2-1 victory, a win that propelled them to the NorCal regional final. Photo By Jeff Kettering

An historic run for the Oakdale High School varsity girls soccer team came to an end on Saturday evening, March 7.

For the first time in school history, Oakdale – coming off its first Section title – continued their outstanding play to reach the CIF State NorCal Division 3 regional final.

Oakdale entered the tournament as the second seed. They blanked their first round opponent, seven seed Pleasant Valley 1-0, with a goal from freshman Skyler Burford off an assist from Kaia Cox on Tuesday, March 3. Back on the home pitch for a game on Thursday, March 5, the Lady Mustangs defeated number six seed Colfax 2-1 in the regional semifinals.

But some 48 hours later, their season would come to an end. The team traveled to Salinas to face the top seed Cowboys in the tournament on Saturday, March 7. There, Oakdale lost in a heartbreaker 2-1. Junior Shelby Mitchell notched the goal with an assist from sophomore Piper Ramirez.

“This season has been amazing; these girls battle and play hard. They have a drive like no other,” said head coach Kico Monares following the thrilling home victory over Colfax that put Oakdale into the regional finals.

In that March 5 game, Colfax took a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute when Madison Gawley found the net. However, Oakdale tied the match at 1-1 when sophomore Kaia Cox scored just before half.

In the 22nd minute of the second half, sophomore Ashlyn Splettstoesser scored the go ahead goal, the ultimate game winner, for the home team. Mitchell had an assist in the contest.

“What a feeling; our team has worked so hard all season long and just to be part of the program is an accomplishment of itself. We set high expectations in the beginning of the season and I feel like we continue to achieve them,” said Cox.

Oakdale’s defense battled in the trenches throughout the night as well, including Jezell Perez-Andrade.

“As a freshman on this team I am so fortunate to be a part of this. Tonight was a special night and we really had to battle with Colfax,” Perez-Andrade said.

This season Oakdale went undefeated, 12-0 in Valley Oak League play, winning the title. They followed up with a run to the CIF Section Division 4 finals, resulting in a championship and the first blue banner for the program in school history.

“I am just so proud of this team and program. Everyone has worked so hard and the results show. I really can not say enough about this team and their accomplishments,” Monares said. “We have so many youthful players; that is the future of this program. Our seniors did so well and their commitment and dedication to the program is unmatched.”

Oakdale’s Lady Mustangs finished their season with a 23-3-2 overall record and were ranked at number 33 in California, number 100 nationally.

Salinas, after ending Oakdale’s season, will move on to play for the state title against the southern region champions Quartz Hill, a number four seed, on Saturday, March 14.

 

Editor Marg Jackson contributed to this report.