Sometimes the best way to conquer your playoff demons are to take a “nothing to lose, everything to gain” approach.
Great games involving sports such as football are easy to remember because there is only one game per week. In every other sport, games become a blur because there are multiple contests during the course of the week.
However, if there is one girls soccer game I regularly think about, it is a 2005 CIF North Coast Section Class A playoff game between the St. Helena Saints and St. Vincent (Petaluma) Mustangs. The Saints won that contest 3-2 in overtime but it was the way they won which will always stand out because St. Helena conquered its recent postseason shortcomings by rallying to win a game that appeared lost.
Never has a team had so many historical trends going against them -- yet they win anyhow. When the Saints players and coaches charged the field to celebrate, I don’t think I have ever seen head coach Milton Gallegos run so fast or jump so high.
Setting the scene: The 2005 version of St. Helena girls soccer entered the NCS Class A playoffs with a recent history of good regular seasons followed by a postseason flamout.
The Saints missed the postseason in 2004 despite an 11-9-1 regular season record in which they won six of their last seven games.
Any postseason win is satisfying but this one was even more fulfilling because the Saints lost their previous three playoff games in decisive fashion to St. Vincent (5-0, 2001), Mendocino (9-2, 2002) and St. Vincent (8-1, 2003).
To top it off, St. Vincent had beaten St. Helena twice in the 2005 regular season by scores of 2-1 and 3-2. In addition, St. Vincent had won section titles four section titles between 1997-2004 while the Saints had yet to win a playoff game.
Thumbnail sketch of the game: The Mustangs scored two well-placed goals in the first half against a St. Helena defense that has been superb throughout the 2005 season. The Saints not only had a strong back-line but a stout goalkeeper in Alice Plant.
Gabrielle Siragusa (10 yards) and Rachel Beauchamp (20 yards) put the Mustangs ahead 2-0 at halftime. St. Vincent not only led at halftime but Gallegos felt the Mustangs were more aggressive than his Saints in the opening half. Coaches frequently utter adages to the effect of “losing is one thing but lacking effort is another.”
The Mustangs lead remained 2-0 with 14 minutes left in the game before St. Helena got on the board with 14 minutes left in the contest with Martha Mora finding the back of the net from 15 yards out.With the Saints on the brink of elimination, Viri DeLoera fired a corner kick that Kelsea Jimenez headed into the net to even the score at 2-2 with four minutes remaining.
In watching the game unfold, one had the feeling that despite all of the historical trends going against the Saints that if the game went to overtime -- it was advantage St. Helena.
The game remained tied at 2-2 at the end of regulation. Gallegos told his players that if there was a cavity in the St. Vincent defense, let it fly.
Brittany Johnston followed that recommendation as the Saints recorded their first postseason win ever in the sport of girls soccer by conquering their postseason past against a team that has been a thorn in St. Helena's side in recent years.
Johnston booted the game-winning goal from about 15 yards out with less than a minute gone by in overtime. The Saints players then stormed the field in enormous jubilation. The emotions ranged from tears of joy to euphoria. I specifically remember Gallegos, just a year or so removed from knee surgery running on to the field like he was Eric Dickerson celebrating with his players.
In fact, there were Johnston twins (Brittany and Fallon) on the team. While neither one lit up the record books like say Ashley Boydston, they were terrific players to have in a program because they had every quality that a coach would admire beginning with great work ethic and great attitude that can take a team a long way.
What it meant: Like most high schools in Northern California, girls soccer was not offered as an organized sport until the mid-1990s. At St. Helena, girls soccer began in the fall of 1997 starting with Dennis Belisle coaching the first season followed by Peter Weber from 1998-2000. Gallegos took over in 2001 and coached until 2010 before becoming the Saints boys soccer coach.
The Saints went on to beat Rincon Valley Christian 4-1 three days later before falling to Mendocino 1-0 in the NCS Class A title game. St. Helena has continued to be a regular postseason participant and reached the Section title game again in 2011, falling 1-0 to St. Vincent. The Mustangs have also won section crowns in 2006 and 2010.
In fact, in 2006, St. Vincent defeated St. Helena 1-0 en route to its section title and again in 2010 by the score of 3-1. Though St. Vincent has returned the favor on a few occasions, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2005, was an unforgettable day if you are a Saints girls soccer fan.
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