Woodside whips Newark

“The girls came together really well,” said Alex Herrera, a 2013 Woodside graduate in his first season as the varsity coach.

He said the team had three days of work under their collective belts since the holiday break and other than slow starts to each half, “they were pretty cohesive.”

Woodside (2-2-1) scored twice in each half and were led by Mariam Yusuf, who scored in each half and added an assist. A 14-goal scorer last season and arguably the best returning player in the Peninsula Athletic League, the senior showcased her skills — which utilizes speed, power, strength and a knack for keeping the ball at her feet. She gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead 20 minutes in on a quick counter attack. Abby Clarke sent a long cross into the middle of the field that Yusuf ran onto and put away.

That strike appeared to finally settle down the Wildcats, who were on their back foot to open the game. Newark (1-3-1) forced a turnover in the Woodside defensive end in the third minute, but an eventual shot sailed over the top of the goal.

The Cougars kept Woodside playing backward for most of the opening minutes as they held the Wildcats trapped in their defensive end.

Woodside, however, escaped without any damage and turned the tables as the Wildcats started pressuring the Cougars’ defense, ending the first half with 10 shots, only three of which were on goal.

Right wing Acua Acosta was especially dangerous, as she sent a number of quality crosses into the Newark penalty box that the Wildcats couldn’t finish.

It was one of a number of long-ball attacks the Wildcats used. It’s not necessarily a style of play Herrera said he likes, but when he saw Newark playing with just three in the back, he wanted to try and open things up by playing long balls over the top and to the corners.

“Over the top? No (not my preferred style),” Herrera said. “But we have players up top who have speed and we wanted to utilize that.”

After Yusuf’s first goal, the Wildcats settled into a ball-control offense, pinging the ball around with a number of one- and two-touch passes. It was that kind of give-and-go that gave Woodside a 2-0 lead by halftime.

Earning the second of consecutive corner kicks, Woodside’s Ruth Ruby Rodriguez sent a cross to the front post that was weakly cleared away from the goal. Natalia Perez Pulido, a freshman making her varsity debut, intercepted the clearance pass and instantly sent it to Rodriguez, who split a pair of defenders before sending a pass to the middle of the box to a wide open Tindra Eckstein. The junior sweeper didn’t waste her opportunity, depositing it in the back of the net.

The start to the second half was similar to the first, with Newark applying early pressure. Another turnover in the Wildcats’ defensive end in the first five minutes of the half turned into the Cougars’ best opportunity of the game — but the ensuing shot went right to goalkeeper Giuliana Perez. Three minutes later, the Cougars earned a corner kick, but that was cleared away.

Again, the Wildcats weathered the storm and went on the attack with Yusuf notching her second goal of the game on a brilliant individual effort. Moments after Rodriguez was denied on a beautiful free kick from 30 yards out, Woodside won the ensuing goal kick, with a long ball from midfield to a charging Yusuf. She sped past the defender before beating the Newark goalkeeper in a 50-50 battle. Yusuf stayed with the play and scored into an empty net in the 53rd minute to put the Wildcats up 3-0.

“Mariam is an overall dominant presence,” Herrera said. “She’s a great leader, as well. … She’s uplifting the team.”

Inside the final 10 minutes, the Wildcats rounded out the scoring. Yusuf received a pass on the right wing and, after a couple of touches to get past two defenders, sent a perfectly curled pass into the middle of the field that found Kiara Arai in stride. She split a pair of defenders before easily beating the goalkeeper for the 4-0 lead in the 71st minute.

It capped a half that saw the Wildcats get off 13 more shots, but this time nine of them were on goal. Newark goalkeeper Azara Waite came up with seven of her eight saves in the second half.

The Wildcats still have three non-league games to play before the start of the PAL Bay Division schedule, which begins Jan. 14, and they are looking to challenge for a division title again after a third-place finish last year.

“We have some strong seniors and juniors who want to bring the team back to the top,” Herrera said.