Wildcats are playing with purpose on the pitch
Los Gatos girls soccer coach Jessica Ingram was determined last season to build depth within the program.
That goal is paying off so far this winter as eight Wildcats have found the back of the net during an impressive 4-1-2 start entering January.
“Our style of play is possession with the purpose to go forward,” said Ingram, who led the Wildcats to an overall record of 15-4-2 and a Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division title last season. “The girls' job is how to read the game.
“For the culture, we really stressed on understanding .. the idea is that we are playing for each other.”
Los Gatos returns five starters, including ALL-SCVAL El Camino second-team selections Macie Yannoni (a junior midfielder/defender) and senior midfielder Caitlyn Simons. Others are senior center back Kate Gruetter, sophomore goalkeeper Cora Bryant and senior center back Ellie White.
Simons, Gruetter and senior defender Mckenzie Powell are team captains.
The Wildcats graduated 12 seniors from its 23-player roster last season, including El Camino Division Most Valuable Player Brynn Gibson, the Most Valuable Defensive Player (Malia Yamamoto) and five other first-team all-leaguers. But Los Gatos has reloaded with players making the jump from junior varsity team along with an infusion of five freshmen.
New starters for this season include freshmen outside backs Abby Nelson and Avery Edson, freshman defensive center midfielder Teagan Kaefer, sophomore center midfielder Leighton Ozawa, sophomore forward Jordan Park and freshman forward Maddie Kohli.
The team's attacking front so far consists of a rotation, according to Ingram.
Entering this week, Simons led the team with three goals in this young season, with Kohli and sophomore Maci Schwab adding two apiece. Nelson paced the team in assists with four, with a pair for Park. Bryant allowed only three goals in the first seven games and recorded five shutouts.
Nelson was the Most Valuable Player of the Silver I Division in the Firebird Classic, which ended on Dec. 9 with Los Gatos winning the division championship game. The Wildcats defeated Westmont 3-0 in the final with goals by Kohli, Schwab and junior Isabella Ramos. Los Gatos started the tournament with a 1-0 win over Pioneer on a second-half goal by Simons with an assist by Edson, then dominated Gunn 3-0 with goals by Simons, Edson and Park, before a scoreless draw again Westmont behind seven saves from Bryant.
“I think it showed us a lot of potential this team has and where we can grow,” Ingram said.
Los Gatos suffered its only loss on Dec. 11, when it was edged at Woodside 2-1. In a battle between Wildcats, Woodside took a 2-0 lead into halftime before Schwab cut the deficit in half when play resumed. Los Gatos outshot
Woodside 5-4.
Three days later, the Wildcats tied host Palo Alto 1-1 in both teams' SCVAL De Anza Division opener on Dec. 14. Yannoni scored in the first half for Los Gatos, which allowed the Vikings only four shots on goal.
Los Gatos bounced back with a 3-0 non-league win over host Aptos on Dec. 16 in the Wildcats' eventual last game of the month. Simons, Kohli and junior Ruby Kruse scored for Los Gatos.
The Wildcats had another nonleague game scheduled for Dec. 18 against visiting Leigh. There had been a heavy rainstorm for hours and there was standing water on the field when the game was called before the first half. The referees made the final decision that it was unsafe for the players, Ingram said. The game was postponed to this upcoming Monday at 7 p.m. at Los Gatos.
Last season, Los Gatos advanced to the Central Coast Section Division I playoff semifinals before being edged by secondseeded Sequoia 1-0 in overtime. The Wildcats were the No. 3 seed.
“I think it put a little fire under