Woodside sweeps Sequoia in quick PAL Bay girls’ soccer series

“[The five-day turnaround] made it easier prepping the girls,” Woodside head coach Alex Herrera said. “They wanted to play better (than they did Saturday).”

But there was also a poor outing against Menlo-Atherton Tuesday, a 4-1 loss, that the Wildcats wanted to flush, as well.

Despite the final score, Woodside (4-2-1 PAL Bay, 13 points; 7-4-2 overall) had to work hard for the win because there were not a lot of opportunities for either side. Woodside just did a better job of taking advantage of their opportunities when the Wildcats had them.

That meant a lot of direct attacks, without much build up in the midfield, to take advantage of their speed. Junior wing Piper Wollenberger-Oviedo was wearing out the Sequoia defense along the right flank, especially in the first half.

“It’s a style mismatch (for us),” Sequoia head coach Melissa Schmidt said. “I feel like it was similar (to Saturday’s game) — it was very even.”

But it was Woodside freshman Ellie Sala in the middle who was the big difference maker. One of the big questions for the defending Bay Division champs heading into the season was who would replace Miriam Yusef, the 2025 San Mateo Daily Journal Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year.

But Sala is doing a pretty good job. Despite only being a freshman, Sala appears to have the same characteristics Yusef possessed — not only fast, but strong — and Sala used both attributes to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead at halftime.

After weathering an initial onslaught from Sequoia (2-3-2, 8 points; 4-7-3) in the opening five minutes, Woodside struck in the sixth. A Wildcat defender simply cleared a ball forward into space, with Sala and a Sequoia defender racing for the ball.

The two were stride for stride before Salas withstood a challenge, losing the defender and giving her an unimpeded look on goal from 25 yards out. she hit a shot and the Sequoia goalkeeper, who was battling the sun directly in her face, simply could not find it and got beat for a 1-0 lead.

Then just before halftime, the Wildcats and Sala struck again on a very similar play, with it being started with a clearing ball. This time, Sala was pinned between two Sequoia defenders and all three were on the chase.

But Sala’s speed and strength, again, won out. She split the defenders to win the ball and gained a step on both before unleashing a shot, again from about 25 yards out, a looping shot that slipped under crossbar and into the net to give the Wildcats a two-goal lead.

“[Sala has] been great,” Herrera said, adding those were the third and fourth goals on the year for Sala. “She’s playing a role she’s never played before.”

Much of the second half was played between the two penalty boxes, without many dangerous opportunities. Sequoia, despite having the edge of possession, could never quite link things together when needed the most.

“We weren’t creating good chances in the final third,” Schmidt said. “[Woodside] defends really well.”

The Wildcats then squashed any hopes for a miracle Sequoia comeback with a goal in the final minutes. The play was triggered by a corner kick out to Anya Lynch, who was stationed well outside the Ravens’ penalty box. But her high arcing shot bounced at the 6-yard line and over the goalkeeper’s head.

It’s been a rough 10 days for the Ravens. They opened last week with a 6-0 win over Terra Nova, followed by a 3-1 win over Aragon to give them their first two Bay Division wins of the season.

But then they had to run a gauntlet. First, it was Saturday’s loss to Woodside; that was followed a 2-1 defeat at the hands of first-place Carlmont, followed by Thursday’s loss to Woodside, again.

“Those are just loaded games,” Schmidt said.

And with only five games left in Bay Division play, every match in crucial.

“Every single [game] matters for every single team,” Schmidt said. “I’ve never seen the [Bay Division] like this. Everyone is beating everyone.”