Liberty gets shutout of Rancho Verde, moves on to D6 quarterfinals

It may not seem like it, but the Liberty girls soccer team is still new at this.

Participating in the CIF Southern Section playoffs for the first time, the Bison are advancing after a 2-0 shutout over Rancho Verde in a Division 6 second-round playoff match Saturday night.

“We have a lot of faith in our back line,” Liberty coach Emma Bennett said. “As long as we can take a lead, we feel pretty good.”

It’s the second consecutive postseason shutout and fifth straight clean sheet for Liberty (12-5-3), which moves on to host Colton in Wednesday’s quarterfinals round.

“I think we’re just going with the flow,” Liberty senior captain Sydney Montgomery said. “We’re winning, and each win is kind of building under us and pushing us forward and lifting us up.”

Shyler Johnson finished with a pair of saves for Liberty, which has posted 13 shutouts this season.

“She’s made some amazing saves for us,” Bennett said. “(Montgomery) and Shyler give us a strong presence in the back.”

Two days after scoring six goals a first round victory, Rancho Verde (8-11-4) mustered only two shots on goal as its season came to an end.

“I think we weren’t into the game in the first half,” Rancho Verde coach Jose Franco said. “We weren’t attacking the same way we have been lately.”

Rancho Verde had scored 11 goals across its previous two matches but finished the season having allowed more goals (46) than it scored (43).

“I know a lot of people probably didn’t expect us to make the second round playing the way that we played, but we got a lot out of this group,” Franco said.

Makenzy Marvick scored the opening goal in the 20th minute for Liberty, belting a rebound into the back of the net.

“The earlier we score the better,” Montgomery said. “It allows us to settle down (and) play our game. Once we got that goal we calmed down and realized we’re good.”

Rancho Verde attempted to get in behind Liberty’s back line but was flagged offside three times in the first half, and Montgomery and Johnson cleaned up all other attempts.

“They made it difficult and you have to give them credit,” Franco said. “Their center back and goal keeper were on point.”

Johnson was there to stop Rancho Verde’s best shot attempt early in the second half, and shrugged off a studs-up challenge to the midsection a few minutes later that earned Mustangs forward Mia Zuniga a yellow card.

“(Johnson) has stepped up in ways we did not expect this year,” Bennett said.

Liberty pushed for more in the final minutes, with a corner kick from Jordan Hill creating just enough chaos in front of Rancho Verde’s goal for Karah Thompson to tuck a shot inside the near post for a goal in second-half stoppage time.