In an exciting game that seesawed back and forth until the end and was plagued with injuries, the girls’ soccer team tied the number-one team in the league, Western Sierra Collegiate Academy, 2-2, in the April 19 game at home.
The Cavs scored two goals early, the first by senior Emma Belliveau.
She was playing defense, but kicked the ball upfield from a couple feet behind the half line.
The ball bounced past Western Sierra’s midfield, past their defense, and then over the goalie’s head.
The crowd and team went wild, as a defender had just scored a goal.
It was Belliveau’s first of the season and she was ecstatic.
But the happiness didn’t last.
Later in the half, Belliveau was running and tried to turn, when her foot got caught in the grass and she fell.
“I sat down and heard a very big crack,” Belliveau said.
Belliveau was pulled from the game and began to ice her ankle.
Freshman Lia Kaufman scored the second goal.
The score at the half was 2-1 after a Western Sierra player shot a ball that bounced off the top post of the goal and then in.
The Cavs were on the defensive most of the second half.
Coach George Champayne moved Kaufman to defense, as the Cavs were having trouble there.
“I moved Kaufman to defense because she is a smart player, and knows how to play the game,” Champayne said.
“She is one of the few players that I can fully trust back there.”
And his trust was justified, as Kaufman made many defensive saves.
One occurred when the ball bounced past the Cavs’ defenders and to Western Sierra. Western Sierra shot the ball, but Kaufman headed the ball to save the goal.
Freshman goalie Bella Mathisen also saved many goals, some of which barely missed the Cavs’ goal.
One time she dove on top of the ball, tripping another player to get possession.
Freshman Michaela Chen was also an contributor on defense, holding back aggressive Western Sierra.
At one point, Chen was hit in the face and jaw, by a ball kicked by Western Sierra.
Western Sierra dominated the field staying mostly on the offense.
With about 15 minutes left, the Cavs lost another player when junior Avi Bhullar was knocked to the ground, sustaining a head injury.
She walked off the field holding her head.
During the second half the Cavs couldn’t return on their shots, even though freshman Abby LaComb kicked the ball into scoring position many times.
Senior Aidan Galati (22) fights for possession against a Western Sierra player.
The score held at 2-1 for most of the second half, but the Cavs began to tire, allowing Western Sierra to score.
The ball got past all the defenders and Western Sierra shot the ball, which went right past Mathisen into the goal.
With the game tied, the Cavs kept pushing.
Yet another player went down, junior Natalie Brown.
She fell to the ground and began to stretch her leg.
The refs called time, and Brown was removed from the game. She continued to stretch on the sideline, and it appeared she had sustained a cramp.
A few minutes later junior Kaeleigh Valverde fell and sustained a cramp just like Brown.
Valverde came out of the game, but Brown re-entered a few minutes later.
The Cavs held their position strong and ended up leaving the game as a tie.
“You don’t know how big this tie is,” Champayne told the girls after the game. “It will be huge at the end of the season.”
The Cavs’ next game is Thursday, April 21, against Cristo Rey at Granite Regional Park at 4 p.m.
—By Jack Christian
