Dons get key win

Only the top three teams in the Bay earn an automatic berth into the Central Coast Section playoffs. Since the Scots (6-3-3 PAL Bay) had a losing record in non-league action, they probably will be left out of the postseason if they have to qualify via an at-large bid. Knowing this Kelly told his team at halftime that "this was our season."

Trailing 1-0 midway through the second half, Carlmont finally started to get things going. In the 53rd minute Kristi Lavezzo made a tremendous run down the right side. She dribbled the ball for a good 20 yards and sidestepped not one but two Aragon (5-4-3 PAL Bay) defenders just as she reached the 18-yard line.

Then she sent a cross to a wide-open Quan, who had enough time to settle the ball, turn her body and connect on a left-footed shot to the lower right corner to make it 1-1. Four minutes later, the Scots struck again in almost identical circumstances. This time it was Carly Richardson who made the play happen, accelerating down the right side before sending a cross to the penalty area.

Aragon once again left Quan unmarked, and the sophomore buried a shot to the lower left corner for the game-winner. The Dons had a flurry of shots moments later, but Carlmont cleared the ball away. Quan did suffer a right ankle injury in the 63rd minute and had to be helped off the field. But she was still in great spirits afterwards, and why shouldn't she be? Her team had finally experienced a breakthrough of sorts.

"The whole season we've been struggling to score," Quan said. "We knew we had to be intense and pull things together in the second half. My teammates made some great plays and I just saw an opening and took them."

Said Kelly: "You saw what Jillian is capable of doing. If she can get the ball in any type of space, she's dangerous. Her issue has been confidence and wanting the ball and taking the ball and finishing. But she was confident today, and so was the team -- finally."

Kelly had waited a long time for his team to have mini goal-scoring outburst. Entering the contest the Scots had scored only 12 goals in 11 league matches. And for a while it looked as if they were going to see their playoff dreams go up in smoke. Aragon scored in the opening 30 seconds of the match -- one of the quickest strikes you'll ever see.

Caity Winterbottom made the play happen, as she showed a relentless determination in dribbling the ball for 40 yards down the right side before sending a cross to Emilie George, who one-timed a shot from point-blank range. The Dons scored quickly despite not having the opening kickoff. But they stole the ball immediately to stun the Scots.

"It's a stunner to allow a goal in the opening 30 seconds, but you have 69 minutes, 30 seconds left (to at least get the equalizer)," Kelly said. "I think the first half we played too many balls in the air, and that doesn't suit our team well. We're better when we find the ball in the seams. We started to make passes that we worked on in practice -- low, driven balls on the ground. We got organized and finally finished our chances. This was huge for us. If we lost this game it might have been our season."

Instead, with two league matches left, the Scots are still in a great position for the final automatic playoff berth. Things could be decided on the final day of the league season, as Carlmont plays at Terra Nova next Thursday. Aragon still has an outside shot of getting in, but it will probably have to win its final two contests against Woodside and Menlo-Atherton to earn a spot.

The Dons had quality chances against Carlmont in the first half, but couldn't finish after their opening strike. They struggled to generate much offensively in the final 35 minutes, finishing with only three shots -- one of which was on goal. But it was a great opportunity in the 48th minute, as Kathryn McAuliffe's corner kick went straight to Nicole Killigrew, whose header nicked off the top crossbar before the ball bounced to the ground. Carlmont cleared the ball away, one of the more pivotal plays of the match.