Sequoia shows signs of life

So as the Ravens entered the second half of Bay Division play Thursday, they found themselves in a tie for last place in the six-team division.

But head coach Melissa Schmidt was confident that her team could, at very least, get back into contention for a playoff spot.

“An AQ (automatic qualifier that goes to the top three teams from the Bay Division) is still on the table,” Schmidt said.

In order to get back into automatic playoff contention, however, Sequoia needs to string together some wins. Up first was a rematch against M-A. Unlike their meeting Jan. 14 that featured seven goals, there was only one scored Thursday — with the Ravens pulling out a 1-0 win with the game-winning goal scored with less than 20 minutes left to play.

“We hit that third league loss and we hadn’t had three losses in league in a while,” Schmidt said. “But that doesn’t mean [the season] has to be over.”

More importantly, Sequoia’s win opens up the race for the Bay Division title. M-A entered the game unbeaten against division opponents and were riding a six-game unbeaten streak.

“Coming out of preseason, I was super optimistic (about our chances to contend),” said M-A head coach Jason Luce. “But we’re a young team and you never know what’s going to happen.”

Making the win even more significant for Sequoia (2-4 PAL Bay, 5-8-2 overall) is that it came with a backup goalkeeper between the posts. Abby Ma, who was called up to the varsity squad to fill in as a defender, was pressed into service as a goalie during the Ravens’ 1-0 loss to Aragon Jan. 16.

Ma had played goalie previously — up until the sixth grade. M-A (4-1-1, 7-5-2) tested her early with a couple of long-distance shots, but Ma was up to the challenge.

She eventually posted her first varsity shutout, finishing with nine saves.

“The thing keeping the kids and myself confident is that [Ma is] a really good soccer player and a really good defender,” Schmidt said. “She’s an athlete.”

There was one anxious moment in the final minute of the first half as M-A’s Maddie Bradley unleashed a shot from 25 yards out that Ma stopped, but nearly bobbled over the goal line.

The ball was about halfway across the goal line when Ma scooped it up. It necessitated a discussion between the head official and the assistant referee and it was concluded that the ball did not cross all the way over.

It ended a first half that saw Sequoia control a bulk of the possession until M-A started to press over the final 15 minutes of the half.

“That was a big point of frustration,” Schmidt said. “We were moving the ball, moving the ball … but we weren’t breaking their back line.

“We forgot to attack.”

That near goal to end the first half seemed to infuse the Bears with confidence and they kept up that momentum to start the second half, with consistent pressure on the Sequoia defense. Five minutes after the break, Samantha Ruiz intercepted a pass in the Ravens’ end and carried it to the top of the penalty box, but pulled wide a shot from 25 yards out.

In the 49th, the Bears sent a ball over a the top that Cassidy Thomas ran on to, but her shot was saved by Ma.

The Ravens, meanwhile, were struggling to string passes together and build a coherent attack until they scored, almost out of the blue.

Sarah Schembri worked a give-and-go with Gigi Jarolimek, who got a pass back about 25 yards from goal. As she lined up a shot, Schmidt said she dropped her head as she has been asking her team to stop firing from so far outside.

But in this case, Jarolimek’s sent the perfectly arched shot on goal, settling into the roof of the net for a 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute.

M-A stepped up its attack after that, but were turned away at every opportunity.

“I think what we’ve been waiting for is this kind of game — a tough, hard-fought game that we won,” Schmidt said. “We’ve been talking about not collapsing in critical moments. They did a great job of not doing that tonight.”