MIDDLETOWN — As the lights dimmed and the stands emptied on Saturday night, one could not help but think what a difference a couple of years have meant to the Middletown High School girls” soccer program, just two seasons removed from a 4-2 playoff loss to the Clear Lake Cardinals.
Two years later the same two teams met once again at Middletown on a cold and wet night, only this time the Mustangs beat the Cardinals 1-0 in the opening round of the North Coast Section Class A playoffs.
And for the second year in a row, the fourth-seeded Mustangs (15-2-3) will face a familiar foe in the semifinals, No. 1 seed Sonoma Academy (18-2) on Wednesday night at Santa Rosa High School. Action begins at 7 p.m.
The Mustangs” quest for a Class A crown was stopped short in 2007 when they fell 3-1 to Sonoma Academy.
“I expected it to be a very evenly played match and it was,” Middletown coach Louise Owens said of her team”s second win over Clear Lake this season — the Mustangs also beat the Cardinals 2-0 on Sept. 23 in Lakeport.
“We have a phenomenal midfield, it”s the best team I”ve had in awhile,” Owens added.
And Owens should know. In her third season as Middletown”s head coach, this is the Mustangs” third straight trip to the postseason.
“We thought we were going to win this,” Clear Lake coach Paul Larrea said. “We played as hard as we could and I couldn”t ask any more of them than that. I”m proud of each and every one of them.”
While midfielders dominated the action for both teams, field conditions also proved a challenge one night after Middletown”s varsity football team hosted Kelseyville on the same field. Rain that fell during the soccer game helped turn the surface into a mud bog in spots, particularly near the net, and the two teams struggled to retain their footing and gain a perch from which to attack their opponent.
A scoreless first half was dead even in more ways than one as both teams had an equal number of scoring opportunities that yielded nothing. It wasn”t until the middle of the second half — in the 57th minute of play — that the momentum swung in favor of the Mustangs as freshman Brittany Cash took a pass from the wing and led a pair of Cardinal defenders in a footrace toward their net.
Clear Lake keeper Mori Jordan came out to challenge Cash”s attack but between the slick conditions and the speed in which Cash struck, all the Cardss could do was watch as Cash”s crossing shot sailed into the goal.
“I wasn”t expecting it,” said an elated Cash said of her goal.
The roar of approval from the Middletown fans seemed to energize both sides, but by then field conditions became a factor for players on both sides, who had to step carefully or lose their balance.
“It was tough to play on it but they played on it, too,” Larrea said of the challenges the muddy field posed.
While the field conditions took away scoring opportunities, they also created a few although neither side was able to capitalize largely because of the stellar play of both keepers ? Jordan for the Cardinals and Kelsey Welton for the Mustangs. Both beat back multiple close-in attacks and, in the case of Clear Lake”s Jordan, four hard saves on corner opportunities.
Clear Lake, the No. 5 playoff seed, finishes the season at 13-8-3.
