Stanford commits to meet in Burlingame-Woodside girls’ soccer showdown

When the two teams meet Thursday at Burlingame, each team will be touting a player committed to play women’s soccer at Stanford University next season. Burlingame senior Amalie Pianim and Woodside senior Elise Evans have never been teammates. But they are slated to be with the Cardinal next season.

“I think it’s going to be a super fun matchup, a good battle,” Pianim said. “And I’m really excited to see her out on the field.”

Pianim and Evans have been opponents on the field since they were 8, a result of their talent-rich destinies playing out on the club soccer pitch. Pianim has played for the past several years with the Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club, while Evans plays for FC Bay Area Surf, a team that formed from the San Jose Earthquakes Academy team that disbanded at the start of 2020.

Evans is in her second season at Woodside. She didn’t play as an underclassman because of commitments to the showcase circuit with the Earthquakes Academy. When that club disbanded, and the 2020-21 high school season shifted to the spring due to the COVID pandemic, the then-junior jumped at the chance to play varsity soccer, she said.

“My whole team jumped in and was super excited to play with our respective high schools,” Evans said. “So, we did that.”

Evans and Pianim each signed a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 29 to play at Stanford. They were part of a seven-player signing class with the Cardinal, four of whom are from the Bay Area. The signing class includes Allie Montoya (Mountain View); Jasmine Aikey (Palo Alto); and Redwood City native Freya Spiekerkoetter.

Pianim, Aikey and Spiekerkoetter are all teammates with MVLA.

“We all play for the same club team and the style is pretty close to Stanford’s,” Pianim said. “So, I think that’s a big part of it.”

Pianim is back with the Burlingame varsity team this season after sitting out as a sophomore and junior, as per her commitments with the club showcase circuit. Her skills are a welcome addition, so far as Panthers head coach Philip De Rosa is concerned.

“Very technical, very strong technical skills,” De Rosa said. “When she’s on the ball, she’s not kicking to kick it. She’ aiming, she’s got placement, she’s just technically so strong. That’s the key.”

With the PAL Bay Division schedule getting underway last week, De Rosa said he isn’t putting too much stock in the outcome of Thursday’s key matchup.

“From that perspective, the season is so early, so young, teams are being impacted by COVID, by injuries, I know we’re not at full strength, I know other teams aren’t, so I don’t make too much of it (this early in the season),” De Rosa said.

Woodside saw its season impacted last week when the team was forced to postpone league games against Hillsdale and Aragon due to COVID protocols.

Undefeated Woodside won its PAL Bay opener Tuesday 3-2 against Menlo-Atherton. And, unlike De Rosa, Wildcats head coach Jose Navarrete said there is a lot riding on Thursday’s match.

“I think it’s very important because this is the toughest PAL Bay I’ve ever seen,” Navarrete said. “And I think the winner of this game is going to have a little bit of an advantage … I think whoever wins [the game] has a good chance of winning this thing.”

Navarrete said he also thinks Evans is the most talented player he’s ever coached. That is a big statement, considering she will be the third player Woodside has sent to a Pac-12 program during Navarrete’s tenure. In recent years, Jillian Aguilera was a standout at University of Arizona, and Jessika Cowart recently finished her career at University of Washington. Heather Seybert also played at Saint Mary’s of the West Coast Conference.

Evans, though, is unique in that she is a versatile and complete player, Navarrete said. She has suited up for two games with the Wildcats this year. She has started at forward — where she scored two goals in a 3-1 win over Terra Nova — and also started as a defender, her natural position.

“Amazing,” Navarrete said. “I think you only see players like that once in a lifetime. … And like I always say, she’s got a great attitude and an unbelievable aptitude.”