Carlmont Scots claim PAL Ocean Division girls’ soccer crown

Sophomore forward Emily Gehrlein-Allen got Carlmont on the board in the 44th minute on a breakaway goal with an assist from senior Kathryn Kelly. In the 68th minute, Kelly all but sealed the win with an unassisted goal on a sharp cross shot that Terra Nova goalkeeper Shannon Hagemann got a hand on, only to have it trickle inside the far post.

“I’m really excited,” Kelly said. “I think our team worked really hard this season, and I’m proud of us.”

While Terra Nova (7-2, 10-7-1) dropped the previous Jan. 20 matchup 5-1 to Carlmont, the game was closer than the score indicated. The Scots scored three goals in the second half in that contest and followed a similar blueprint in the rematch. Both the Scots’ goals came in the second half, something of a calling card for this year’s squad, according to Carlmont’s first-year head coach Jillian Quan.

“Our team is just I guess a second-half team,” Quan said. “It started from preseason too. We would maybe score a couple goals in the first half and then second half we just kind of came out. … I think overall for the season we’re more of a second-half game.”

Both teams’ goalkeepers played exceptionally, though. Hagemann drew the biggest rounds of applause from the good home crowd at Coach Bill Gray Stadium. And Carlmont’s platoon of sophomore keepers Kylie Rouspil and Ava Gaboury excelled in one of their biggest tests of the year.

“[Carlmont] played a really spirited game,” Terra Nova head coach Dave Downing said. “We took it on the chin last time from them 5-1. … We came up with a little game plan. We pretty much shut them down. We had a couple mistakes in the second half, and they took advantage, and we did not. We had some great opportunities on some through balls that hit the crossbar and stuff. But it was a good matchup.”

Gaboury has served as the Scots’ second-half goalie for most of the season, and often enters the game when her team already has a lead. This was not the case Tuesday as she entered amid a scoreless tie.

After Carlmont dominated time of possession in the first half, Terra Nova opened the second half on the attack. Gaboury earned a quick save before the Scots flipped the field with a takeaway by senior midfielder Maya Blodgett, who set Carlmont’s first score in motion with a quick tap to Kelly.

“Maya won the ball and I looked up and Emily was making a run,” Kelly said. “And I played her through, and she was able to beat the defender with speed, and a nice finish.”

But Terra Nova fired right back. In the 46th minute, the Tigers advanced into the box with a loft pass into the keeper’s area, but Carlmont defensemen Kaylee Dartnell and Emilie Brack were on point to intercept the ball and clear the dangerous chance.

Then in the 48th minute, the Tigers had a good chance on a corner kick, when senior Sierra Pelleriti redirected it perfectly with a header. But Gaboury read the play well and stayed in step with the attempt to grab the save.

“I wasn’t entirely expecting the header, but then I was in the right position, and I was able to get in front of the ball,” Gaboury said.

Terra Nova’s best chance came in the 56th minute when sophomore Madison Donati drove the right side and took a crisp shot at the near post, only to have it strike the upright. But instead of going out of bounds, the ball skidded across the post and was suddenly up for grabs at the opposite side of the box.

Terra Nova came up with the rebound, but senior defenseman Kaliya Mah gave a master class in clutch defense, marking the Tigers attacker with tough, physical play between the ball and goal line.

“She got right on the ball, perfect position, made sure the other player couldn’t get a shot off,” Gaboury said. “It was great defending to save the goal there.”

Donati leads the Tigers with 18 goals this season, and nearly scored an equalizer in the 66th minute despite taking aim from deep on the wing. The strength of Donati’s leg, from approximately 35 yards away, still forced Gaboury to leave her feet.

“We definitely improved on staying on our marks and going first to ball, which helped us come out strong and also give us a chance offensively to get shots off,” Donati said. “I think that’s what helped us differently in this game in giving us a fighting chance.”

Blodgett — who celebrated a birthday Tuesday — nearly capped the day with a third Carlmont goal late in the game. The Scots’ leading scorer this season, Blodgett rattled the crossbar with a sharp shot, and saw the ball careen straight down. Carlmont contended the ball crossed the goal line, but it was called a non-goal.

“I’m going to say yes, it went in,” Quan said. “It was pretty close because the angle it hits off that crossbar, we did see a little bit of movement in the net, but that could have been the ricochet off, or it could have slipped in there.”

With the Ocean Division title, Carlmont earns an automatic bid to the Central Coast Section playoffs. Despite the disparity in the PAL Ocean, with the Scots outscoring league opponents 56-1 thus far, Quan is optimistic her team can get up to speed in a hurry to start the postseason. The Lady Scots will even scrimmage against the Carlmont boys’ junior-varsity team in preparation.

“Yeah, I’m going to get them as ready and prepared as I can in that first week and a half before we hit the first round of CCS,” Quan said.