Late goal lifts Woodside to win

With the match deadlocked in the 74th minute, Sheldon — all 5-feet of her — sped in to control a ball near the end line just 10 feet outside the cage. Sheldon wheeled with incredible balance and strength to fire a shot on goal, only to have it knocked away with a brilliant save by Burlingame goalkeeper Sophia Young.

“I was frustrated at first because I’d been trying and trying and trying,” Sheldon said. “But then I saw my player there and I was like, OK, it’s fine.”

Young left her feet while deflecting the ball to the other side of the goal, where it fell right to the foot of Ryan. Somehow, Young had the wherewithal to get back to her feet but by that time it was too late as Ryan socked a cross-shot to the top corner for the game-winning score.

“Phenomenal save,” Burlingame head coach Phillip De Rosa said. “And it was just unfortunate. There was nothing else she could do on that. She made the save and it just came back the other way.”

It was a fitting ending to a second half that saw Woodside (2-0-1 PAL Bay, 6-1-1 overall) dominate through the middle of the field. Burlingame (0-2-1, 5-2-2), for its several chances in the first half, didn’t put a shot on goal in the second. The Panthers never even advanced the ball through the middle in the back third over the final 40 minutes.

Woodside midfielder Giselle Gutierrez has been the key to the Wildcats wall all season.

Head coach Jose Navarrete has plenty of talent through the middle on roster, but is still looking for it all to come together. Senior midfielder Alondra Gomez Garcia on Thursday played in just her second game since returning from an early December injury. And junior midfielder Marlena Louis has been on the shelf since getting injured opening week; Louis was in uniform Thursday but did not see action.

“[Gutierrez] is pivotal to our fast start,” Navarrete said.

For all the work Gutierrez did in disrupting Burlingame’s ability to advance the ball past midfield, she also came up with a 50-50 ball in the first half to set Woodside’s first scoring strike in motion.

Burlingame got on the board in the 10th minute, taking advantage of a free kick when Josephine Fontana was fouled by Ryan near the corner. The ensuing free kick from Ella Macko found Kerry Wakasa right in the heart of the box for a direct shot into the top corner to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.

Play continued on the Panthers’ side until the 18th minute when Gutierrez won a ball near midfield, triangulating precision passing with Ryan and senior Brynn McClymond. Ryan ultimately pushed it up to McClymond on the wing, who sent it over with a quick tap to freshman Angeni Garcia, who took aim with a cross.

“We’re talking to each other and everybody is getting open,” Gutierrez said. “So, I just played it through to Katie and she went through as fast as she could and crossed it.”

Garcia was not credited with the goal, however. As the shot neared the back post, a Burlingame defender attempted to clear it, but couldn’t get an angle and directed the ball into the cage for an own-goal, tying it 1-1.

“To be perfectly honest with you, it looked like [Garcia’s shot] was on goal, but it was deflected,” De Rosa said. “It was definitely deflected, and it came off one of our players.”

Burlingame had two great chances later in the half and both were denied by Woodside sophomore goalkeeper Evangeline Viray. The Wildcats have been rotating three goalies this year. Viray, though, was in the right place at the right time on Burlingame attempts in each the 28th and 32nd minute, first denying a bullet off the foot of Ava Klapper, then backing it up four minutes later by leaving her feet to deflect an attempt inside the left post.

Young proved on par with her opposite number by producing the save of the match in the 67th minute. Sheldon broke free for a clear charge at the Burlingame goal, but Young responded to the 1-on-1 with a wonderful save, leaving her feet to take a slap at the high shot and push it away.

Sheldon was like a little firecracker in clutch situations, though, and finally used her unmatched speed to set in motion the game-winner in the 74th minute.

“Throughout the game I could tell I was faster than the defenders,” Sheldon said. “So, I knew I could get past them. This year I’ve been really strong in my crossing, and I saw that I had a shot on goal so I decided to take the shot. And if it doesn’t go in, it’s always a cross.”

And, in the case of this particular cross shot, “Katie squared” equaled “W” for the Wildcats.