Athlete of the Week: South City’s Iliana Sanchez

Sanchez’s answer was a resounding “yes.” The Daily Journal Athlete of the Week led the charge for her and four fellow fourth-year varsity seniors to keep their high school careers going with a 3-2 overtime win over Sequoia, advancing to Wednesday’s Division II semifinals at top-seed Capuchino.

“She’s had big moments all year,” Mansell said. “Whether it’s scoring a goal, or drawing a foul, or getting behind the defense with her pace … she just has a very high work rate.”

After Sequoia took a 2-0 lead into halftime, Sanchez put the Warriors on the board in the 71st minute, utilizing her fleet-footedness to run down a long pass from senior Alexandra Jara and drive in to place it just inside the left post.

The communication on the pass was the product of the Warriors’ core five seniors having played together for years, even prior to arriving at South City. Sanchez, Alexandria Jara, Leilani Jara, Camellia Nasrah and Megan Celillo have played together since grade school for the San Bruno Lowen83 Tornados of the NorCal Premier club soccer ranks.

Alexandra Jara, returning Saturday from a hamstring injury, hadn’t played in nearly a month. Mansell said prior to the game he wasn’t sure how many minutes the senior could play. She ultimately turned in over 80 minutes, playing most of regulation and the entirety of the two 10-minute overtime periods.

“It was definitely a huge change,” Sanchez said. “She always helps me and always knows how to find and place the ball for me … so it was something we all definitely missed.”

It’s just this kind of bond that has helped the quintet of Warriors put the program on the map. Upon their arrival in 2016-17, South City had long resided in the lower Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division. That changed in 2017-18, however, with an Ocean Division championship and a promotion to the upper PAL Bay.

“I feel like that was a huge year for us and a huge turning point,” Sanchez said.

Now, with two seasons of Bay Division play in the books, the Warriors have recorded a cumulative league record of 13-4-3. Over the past four seasons, South City’s overall record all told is 60-16-9.

The dramatics of the equalizer and the go-ahead goal Saturday made the victory the group’s crowning achievement to date.

In the 78th minute, Sanchez drew a foul just outside the 18-yard line. The ensuing free kick by junior Fatima Waldo-Garcia was pushed over the crossbar by Sequoia’s goalkeeper, giving the Warriors a corner kick. With that corner, sophomore Bianca Gonzalez took a short outlet inbound and drove the end line, using Sanchez as a near-side decoy before sending a pass to the far post for Jara to tap in, tying the game 2-2 in the 79th minute.

Then in the opening minutes of overtime, Sanchez’s acumen with the ball set up the go-ahead goal.

“She got behind the defense a couple times in that game,” Mansell said, “and it was just a matter of time because she’s pretty resourceful.”

With a ball played into the corner, it took some amazing footwork on Sanchez’s part to get through three Sequoia defenders.

“Honestly, I just saw that opening right down the line and I just knew I had to do something,” Sanchez said. “I just saw the opening and I knew Fatima would be there and I just passed it. It was just on instinct.”

Controlling the ball inside her right foot, she pivoted left and allowed for one defender to run past. Then, as the second defender converged from the inside, she turned her back, juggled the ball to her left foot, but the initial defender took another stab at a steal, driving her shoulder square into Sanchez’s nose in the process.

Sanchez pushed right through the pain, regaining possession as a third defender joined the mix and battled through to knock the ball through as she fell to the ground. After an exchange in the middle of the field, Waldo-Garcia regained possession and fired a shot from the top of the box and peppered it high into the left corner of the net to give South City its first lead of the day.

“We just kind of lifted each other up and told each other what we needed to do,” Sanchez said. “And it just worked out.”

Now, with the South City girls’ soccer program never having qualified for the CCS playoffs prior to 2017-18, the Warriors are heading to the Division II semifinals for the third straight year.

“Honestly, when we came here, I don’t think the school expected us to come as far as we’ve come today,” Sanchez said. “When I got here, we were in the bottom league. We’ve earned credibility and reputation, and now the entire dynamic of the soccer system has changed.”