Ailing Nueva Mavericks sail through CCS soccer opener

Since then, Chen hasn’t missed a start in each of Nueva’s last three playoff appearances. And even though she wasn’t at full strength, the senior was on her game Saturday at Skyline College, scoring two goals as the No. 3-seed Mavericks (16-3-1) rolled to a 6-0 victory over No. 6 Oak Grove-San Jose.

“I’m just grateful to the rest of the team, being a couple of us were sick,” Chen said. “So, people were putting in the work who maybe were a little tired or lacking, today specifically. So, we just went out with the mentality to do the best we can. That’s all we can ask.”

Chen came within inches of scoring a hat trick on a chance in the 49th minute. After scoring two of the Mavericks’ first four goals, Chen looked to add to a commanding lead by dancing through two defenders to gain a step toward a 1-v-1 from the middle of the box, sending a right-footed bullet that sliced just wide of the right post.

“It was pretty close,” Chen said. “I probably should have taken it with my left foot. But it went a little wide.”

While solidifying the middle tier for a defensive wall that allowed Oak Grove (14-3-2) few chances, all bets were off as to Chen’s role when Nueva went on the attack. She highlighted the Mavericks’ aggressive start by getting the team on the board in the fifth minute after sophomore winger Zoe Koh came up with a steal deep in the Eagles’ territory. Koh was wide on the flank, but drove straight to the end line before crossing it to Chen, who got out front with a tempo to tap it in at the back post to give the Mavericks an early 1-0 lead.

“She plays wherever she’s needed,” said Sergio Rivera, Nueva’s acting head coach, with regular coach Daniel Zerabruk not in attendence. “She’s a magician on the field, so we want her on the ball as much as we can get her. Today, she played a little bit of striker, she jumped into the midfield a little bit, and she gave us a lot for being under the weather.”

Nueva kept hammering away. Freshman forward Neela Prabhu scored her first of two goals on the day in the 11th minute. The Mavericks made it 3-0 in the 22nd when Prabhu’s sudden steal and assist pass set up Koh for a wheel-and-fire boot through traffic from the top of the box.

The Mavericks’ midfield continued clamping down, fortified by senior center backs Nancy Graham-Martinez and Grace Everett, allowing Oak Grove just one shot on goal in the first half.

“Our girls do a good job,” Rivera said. “They’re positioning themselves all so there’s always an option to play back, or to play forward. So, they do a really good job of that. Their awareness is good, so I think that helps them a lot in being able to either keep the ball, or when to move forward. So, we were able to build some chances off that.”

Nueva senior goalkeeper Ava Jalali recorded an impressive save just before the halftime whistle, taking the lead on an Oak Grove corner kick by jumping through a crowd to punch it away and preserve the shutout.

Chen opened the second half with her second score on a quick-tap through ball from Koh, running it down the throat of the Eagles’ back rank for a 1-v-1 finish inside the right post.

Midway through the second half, Jalali hit the turf in a scary moment for the Mavericks. The senior keeper charged out of the penalty box to beat an Oak Grove forward to the spot of the ball, but the resulting collision laid her out for a minute. Jalali toughed it out, though, and waved off her coach from running out onto the field before returning to the cage.

“She was able to recover from that,” Rivera said. “I wasn’t sure. I got scared for a second. I was already looking for volunteers.”

Koh and Prabhu each added their second goals of the day inside the final 20 minutes, sending Nueva comfortably into the second round of the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

In addition to Chen’s illness, senior Patrice Graham-Martinez vomited on the field during the pregame warmups, Rivera said.

“Luckily they were still able to pull through,” Rivera said, “give us 10, 15 minutes here and there. I had some subs that were able to jump in and keep the intensity and the level up.”

With the win, Nueva advances to Wednesday’s semifinal round. The Mavericks travel to No. 2 Monta Vista-Cupertino for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Matadors advanced with a 3-0 win over No. 7 More-San Jose.