San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
NIGHTHAWKS WIN WITH EARLY START
The luck of the ospreys paid off nicely for the Nighthawks.
The curious pair of ospreys who set up a large nesting camp on top of a light standard behind the east sideline of Mission Bay Stadium witnessed a stunning rebound goal by junior Emma Pidding 18 seconds into Del Norte's 4-0 victory over Steele Canyon in the championship game of the San Diego Section Division I girls soccer tournament.
Pidding's piece of magic preceded second-half tallies by junior Carolyn Espinoza, four-year starting defender Lauren Wheeler and sophomore Bri Godoy and gave the Nighthawks their first CIF title.
“It feels amazing,” Wheeler said. “We've been wanting this for a long time and finally got it.”
Asked if she had ever scored so quickly, Pidding confessed, “No. Never. Maybe 30 seconds, but not that quick.”
Moments in, Nicole Anderson found a seam and dribbled through it, but her shot was blocked by Cougars goalie Anjolie Colon. “I just followed the rebound and knocked it in,” Pinning said. “It was a gift.”
Top-seeded Del Norte (114-3) advanced to the Southern California Regionals on Tuesday with a five-game winning streak after beating No. 9 Poway (3-1), No. 4 West
Del Norte 4, Steele Canyon 0
Hills (2-0) and No. 10 Steele Canyon in the playoffs.
Under the only coach in the 21-year history of Steele Canyon, the Cougars (9-8-4) were attempting to pull off a miracle playoff run and win their second CIF title (2019). The Cougars lost section title games in 2015, '17 and '18.
Steele had reeled off four straight wins, including a Senior Night win over Grossmont and then playoff upsets of No. 7 Mission Bay (2-1), No. 2 Mater Dei (2-1) and No. 3 Helix (0-0, PK) in the semifinals.
Boys
Rancho Bernardo 1, Southwest 1 (RB wins PKS, 5-3): Dylan Clark, Lexi Bernier, Nathan York, DJ
Francis and Ethan Clark went 5-for-5 on PKS to lift the defending champion and No. 2 Broncos (8-6-2) to their third section title. No. 4 Southwest (10-4-4) lost for the first time in 11 games after a 1-3 start.
The Raiders took a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute on a penalty kick by Ivan Gomez. But Gomez hit the left post on his OT PK. The Broncos tied it up 5 minutes later as Clark got the better of a mayhem collision with junior goalie Jose Hernandez, who had to be replaced by Manuel Lopez. It was the first goal off Hernandez (or Southwest) in the playoffs.
RB midfielder Samy Kanaan saved a goal at the line in the 66th minute.