Woodside edges top-seed Mountain View to win CCS Open Division title

In one stunning moment in the second half of Friday’s title game, however, Kayla Hart ended Mountain View’s longtime reign by booting the game-winner in the 59th minute, the lone goal in Woodside’s 1-0 win to claim its third all-time CCS crown.

“Thankfully, I was just in the right place at the right time,” Hart said.

Despite Kayla Hart’s humble account, the sophomore put herself in the right place at the right time through sheer force of will. On the possession, Aguilera shuffled a pass to Daisy Jimenez at the top corner of the penalty box. With two defenders closing, Jimenez forced a shot but it was deflected for what looked like a clearance.

As this transpired, Kayla Hart was knocked to the ground behind the play. But as she quickly got to her feet, momentarily dazed, Woodside midfielder Izzy Bascara intercepted Mountain View’s attempted clearance and sent the ball past the two defenders. Kayla Hart locked on to the loose ball, dashed through the defense and picked up a quick dribble into the penalty box for a 1-on-1 matchup with the Spartans’ goalkeeper and fired for the score.

“I’m not the most aggressive player, but I give it all I’ve got,” Kayla Hart said. “That’s just soccer. That’s just the name of the game.”

The Wildcats’ victory capped a fairly remarkable streak in their own right, as Woodside — sweeping through the Open Division bracket with wins over Santa Teresa 1-0; Mitty 0-0 (4-3 on penalty kicks); and Mountain View — didn’t allow a goal throughout the tournament.

“If you told me they wouldn’t give up a goal, I would have said you belong in an insane asylum,” Woodside head coach Jose Navarrete said.

Mountain View was handicapped, playing without one of its leading scorers in junior forward Natasha Harris, who was injured in the Spartans’ 2-0 semifinal win over Aptos. Woodside too was shorthanded, though, as junior midfielder Alex Augulis injured her knee in the semis and was unavailable for action in the title game.

The Spartans came out strong from the opening kickoff, controlling the ball for the first 15 minutes. They even earned an early penalty kick, but missed wide of the post to keep the game scoreless.

During the final 10 minutes of the opening half, however, Aguilera began to gather momentum for her offense. The senior actually missed a grand opportunity in the 37th minute, firing a shot off the right post from the top of the penalty box. But the Wildcats continued to keep the pressure on, even to start the second half.

“We’re always like that,” Navarrete said. “We’re pretty lethargic in the first 10 minutes … and then we play with a different level of intensity as the game goes on.”

Two minutes prior to Kayla Hart’s goal, Mountain View had good chance when Maddie Neidig got around the back row for a 1-on-1 look from the wing, but fired high and wide. By the time the Spartans got their next look, they were trailing.

“We knew they were fast; we knew they were good,” Woodside senior Brianna Hart said. “We just matched up the best we could. And I guess it worked.”

Brianna Hart is the older sister of Kayla Hart, and the reason the championship-game hero aimed to play varsity soccer this season. A lifer on the pitch, and coached with her Juventus club team by Mountain View head coach Ivan Bandov, Kayla Hart was the team captain of the Woodside junior-varsity squad last season.

“Here was a young lady who was a long shot to make varsity at the beginning of the year,” Navarrete said. “She’s a phenomenal young lady that really works hard.”

But she wanted the opportunity to play with her senior sister for one season. So, she set the goal to earn a varsity spot.

“I knew I was going to do whatever it took to get a spot on this team,” Kayla Hart said.

Brianna Hart came up big with two defensive plays in the closing minutes. First, in the 76th minute, she chased down a potential breakaway by Spartans forward Ysa Baluyot with a sliding tackle. Then in the 77th minute, amid a furious scrum in the keeper’s box, Brianna Hart had one of several deflections before the Wildcats cleared it to avert disaster.

The title is Woodside’s third all-time, but just its second sole championship. In 2013, during Aguilera’s freshman campaign, the Wildcats settled for a Division I co-championship after a tie in the title match with Santa Teresa.

“I feel we really deserve this,” Aguilera said. “My ninth-grade season … we got that co-championship but it feels great being a true champion by winning the championship game.”