Flurry of goals lifts the Knights to Ocean crown

It would also complete an undefeated league season, to boot.

The two teams established themselves as the cream of the Ocean Division crop this season, as both dominated the competition. And when the two met in San Mateo Jan. 29, nothing was solved as the game finished in a 1-1 draw.

And Friday’s game started as one would expect a championship showdown — a lot of defense, punctuated by the occasional offensive foray.

But the game was decided in the final minutes of the first half as Hillsdale erupted for three goals to stun Woodside as the Knights went on to post a 3-0 victory and claim the Peninsula Athletic League’s Ocean Division title.

It’s the program’s first since the Knights were co-champs with South City in 2022 and their first outright division championship since 2015.

“It was a team win,” said Hillsdale head coach Jaime Gomez. “We knew what we had to do. We took advantage of our opportunities at the right time.”

With neither team mounting much offensively, it seemed they were destined for a scoreless first half, but you can never underestimate speed and that’s what led to the first goal for Hillsdale (9-0-1, 28 points PAL Ocean; 15-1-2 overall) in the 33rd minute. Woodside (8-1-1, 25 points; 11-8-1) had just come up empty on a free kick from near midfield and the the Knights wasted little time in trying to hit the Wildcats with a counterattack. The Knights played a long ball out of the back that was chased down by Sineth Andrabadu, a sprinter on the Hillsdale track team.

He carried the ball toward the end line before turning the corner and sending a cross to the front of the goal. The ball took a deflection from Connor Gilbert and rolled to the far left post where Christopher Lopez was crashing.

Lopez, the ball and Woodside goalkeeper Diego Comfort all arrived at the same time, with Lopez sliding the ball past Comfort as he crashed into the back of the net himself.

Giving up a goal so close to halftime disappointing, but not insurmountable. But Hillsdale wasn’t done. Five minutes later, it was a Lopez pass that found left back Sebastian Novak, who had come on as a substitute only minutes earlier and who doubled the Knights’ lead in the 38th minute.

But Woodside was still, technically, in the game. There is an old saying that a two-goal lead is the most dangerous in soccer. A Wildcats’ goal would get them right back in the game.

Instead, the Knights scored the backbreaker in the 40th minute off a free kick from 40 yards out, near the right sideline. Tyler Hughes sent a long, looping ball to the middle of the penalty box when Novak rose up and headed the ball on frame. It arced high in the air toward the right post. Comfort managed to get his hands on the ball, but could not stop it’s momentum as the ball found the side netting for a 3-0 lead at halftime.

Novak was a call-up from the junior varsity squad and he was making his second varsity appearance. Woodside nearly got one back in stoppage time, but Luke Hunter’s free kick from 30 yards out skimmed off the crossbar.

The Wildcats sat in stunned silence on their bench at halftime.

But there was still a second half to play and despite holding a three-goal lead, Gomez was still a little nervous. He lost his defensive captain, Luke Lawton, to a knee injury late in the first half.

But the Knights had allowed a total of six goals all season long and just two in Ocean Division play. Tyler Essa came in to replace Lawton and the defense did not skip a beat.

“Everyone needed to be ready,” Gomez said.

But in order to take the pressure off, Gomez used the tactic of “the best defense is offense” and he kept his team on the front foot in the second half.

“Not give them an inch,” Gomez said was the message to the team at halftime. “We continued to push forward.”

If you didn’t know the score, you would have the Knights were the team trailing as they played with an urgency that the Wildcats lacked. Hillsdale pressured the ball at every turn and took Woodside out of its possession-style of game.

“I’ve seen (teams rally from three-goal deficits),” Gomez said. “That’s why you want to keep pushing.”