SANTA CRUZ >> The Pacific Collegiate School girls soccer team had history as motivation to win its Central Coast Section Division II first-round playoff game against Latino College Prep on Wednesday.
“First time ever!” the girls cheered in delight in their chilly and brief postgame huddle.
Yes, their dominant 4-0 win over the Eagles marked the first time in school history that a Pumas soccer team, boys or girls, had won a CCS playoff game. For their quarterfinal, however, they will have something perhaps even more innervate driving them.
A bee.
“Last year I was not smart enough and I did agree that if we won two CCS games, I would get a tattoo of a bee,” said fourth-year coach Kelly Binger, who has been dubbed Queen Bee by his players. “We hadn’t won any, so I thought I was safe.”
Not anymore. Considering the Pumas’ performance against LCP, a first-time CCS qualifier, Binger has reason to be nervous about Saturday’s quarterfinal. PCS (14-2-5) will play No. 3 Terra Nova (7-5-6), which defeated No. 14 Gunderson 2-0, at a time and place TBA.
That’s not to mention that, according to Binger, Wednesday was the first time all 11 PCS starters made it onto the field at the same time this season. In other words, a team that swept the Mission Trail Athletic League in its first season moving up to that level could finally be at full strength.
“It’s the toughest team we’ve fielded,” Binger said.
Last year, when PCS reached the CCS playoffs for the first time in program history, the sick and bruised up Pumas limped into their loss to No. 3 Menlo. This season, PCS experienced numerous injuries and illnesses early in the season, which is paying off now.
Senior Maddie Payne said she could feel the difference on the field. She showed it by notching a hat trick for the game’s first three scores.
“It feels amazing,” she said of the historic win. “This is such a great group of girls. We’ve really meshed over the last couple of weeks. I love these girls.”
Payne scored the opening goal 10 minutes into the game on an assist from senior Amaya Dennis. Her second came in the 34th minute when Dennis took a pass from junior Roxana Ortiz, then sent a long ball back to a sprinting Ortiz who crossed it over to Payne for the score. Payne added her third tally when she got a one-on-one with Eagles keeper Fabiola Garcia in the 45th minute.
Dennis closed out the Pumas’ offensive barrage in the 61st minute with a goal of her own after senior Gina Gwiazda took a pass from junior Farrah von Sothen and passed up her own look at the net to get the ball to a more centrally placed Dennis. Dennis then buried the ball from about 12 yards out.
As much damage as PCS did, it could have been much worse. The Pumas made 11 shots on goal to the Eagles’ two and were outshot overall 22-2. LCP can thank the small but ball-hawking Garcia for keeping the score respectable for a program making its CCS debut.
The San Jose school reached the playoff by winning the Private School Athletic League, which coach Sergio Pinon said finally had enough members to send a team to the playoffs.
“We’re a small school, and most of our girls haven’t played soccer before,” Pinon said. “I’m really proud of how far we got.”
Despite their seeds, PCS stands more than a chance against Terra Nova. The Tigers out of Pacifica are 0-3 in the CCS playoffs and missed last year’s tournament. They earned the No. 3 seed as the fourth-place finisher in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Bay Division.
Payne said her team is ready. After the win, she said, it could be said the team feels a little buzzed.
“We’re going to go into it strong,” Payne said.
