Saturday afternoon, the Albany Lady Cougars won their NCS Division II Soccer quarterfinal match against the Bulldogs of Alhambra, 3-1. It was the Cougars first NCS win in three tries against the Bulldogs.
Despite multiple injuries and missing players, leaving their roster for the match at 12 players—including two who had played the majority of the season on JV—the Cougars were able to take a quick lead. Senior captain and BSAL MVP Maddie Kirkby banged a freekick off the crossbar three minutes in, with sophomore striker Mallory Wolfe able to put it in for the goal.
The match then turned into a spectacular defensive showcase from the Cougars. With the absence of substitutes, back line play was key. Senior defender Pia Mingkwan and sophomore Jo Kirkby each had multiple aggressive stops to counteract the oft-shooting Bulldog team.
“We went in with nothing to lose,” said Mingkwan about the adversity the Cougars faced. “With only 12 bodies, everyone understood what they had to do to win.”
The real showing though was from junior Ivory Beltran. Playing her first game ever at goalie, she made several spectacular stops in heavy traffic to keep Alhambra off the board in the first half, 1-0 in favor of the Cougars.
“Ivory played keeper for one day before the game,” Mingkwan said about Beltran’s performance. “She played to protect the team and we played to protect her.”
The second half began in a lull. Twenty minutes into the half, senior midfielder Mari Pastor scored to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead.
After some questionable calls by the referees shortly thereafter, the Alhambra bench was given a yellowcard for unsportsmanlike conduct, and a coach was ejected. Despite an Alhambra goal that followed shortly, the Bulldogs could not sustain momentum.
The game was put out of reach after junior Clara Macleod headed in a Maddie Kirkby corner, making the final tally 3-1.
“It’s the team that wants it more who walks away with a win. We wanted it more,” Mingkwan concluded.
The Cougars play Wednesday night at Dublin High School at 7 P.M. in the NCS semifinals.
