Stage is set for big finish in PAL Bay Division girls’ soccer race

Riding a 13-game winning streak dating back to the start of the season, Woodside’s woes started last Thursday with a 0-0 tie against Menlo-Atherton. Then Saturday the Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season 2-1 at Aragon. The two results left second-place Sequoia within three points of first place.

“We needed both of those things to happen,” Sequoia head coach Melissa Schmidt said.

Both teams took care of business Tuesday. The Wildcats (7-1-1 PAL Bay, 14-1-1 overall) took down third-place Burlingame 4-1, while Schmidt’s Ravens posted the same 4-1 score against Hillsdale. Now, in Thursday’s regular-season finale, Sequoia has its sights set on upsetting Woodside, which would leave the two teams as co-champions in the Bay Division.

While Sequoia (7-2-1, 12-3-1) has won several Ocean Division championships in the PAL’s lower league, it has never earned a Bay Division crown. But the Ravens have been on a rise in recent years, starting with their first appearance on the Central Coast Section championship stage in the 2020-21 spring season.

Thursday’s showdown at Sequoia is slated for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff.

“I have a feeling it’s going to be a really rough game,” Woodside head coach Jose Navarrete said. “They’re talented. They’re good. They have one of the best midfields in the PAL and we’re aware of that. We’re going to come out and play hard, and I’m sure they are too.”

Navarrete’s Wildcats got back on track Tuesday in a big way. Woodside senior Elise Evans scored a hat trick, and Rachel Mull added a goal. Evans — a Stanford commit — saw her future Cardinal teammate score in the game, as Burlingame senior Amalie Pianim — also a Stanford commit — scored the lone goal for the Panthers.

“It was dominant, but I had never seen a Woodside team play that well on Bradley field,” Navarrete said. “We really played well today after we laid an egg at Aragon on Saturday. … They showed a lot of pride by coming back and playing the way they did today.”

One team’s egg is another team’s golden goose, and Sequoia was walking on clouds after getting word of Woodside’s loss Saturday. Schmidt took a day off from the soccer pitch and enjoyed her day by attending her sons’ basketball game at Burton Park. During the basketball game, she received a text from one of her Sequoia players informing her Woodside shockingly lost to Aragon.

It just so happened three other Sequoia players spending the day at Burton Park got news of the upset at the same time.

“Then all the girls started going crazy when we realized we had this opening,” Schmidt said.

The last time Woodside and Sequoia met, Jan. 25, the Wildcats reveled in a 6-3 victory. It stands as their biggest single-game scoring output in PAL Bay play this season.

“I think we’re feeling good,” Schmidt said. “The score when we played them was lopsided, but I think we were in the whole game. And I think we got in our heads a little bit. There’s an intimidation factor with Woodside … but I think the girls are excited. We’ve never been here.”

Sequoia took care of business Tuesday paced by two goals from Teagan Tokheim, including one to get the Ravens on the board early in the first half. The freshman picked up a deflection off a defender just outside the box and turned around a laser beam for an unassisted goal.

Addison Haws and Nina Mills added scores, while Nathalie Franco totaled two assists.

Thursday’s rematch with Woodside is different than Sequoia’s previous loss in that it will be on Sequoia’s home turf at Terremere Field.

“It’s not only for a championship, it’s for pride,” Navarrete said. “We want to be champions alone. We want to show we’re one of the best teams in the PAL.”