Prep girls’ soccer: Curling corner kick and family feel power Woodcreek into semifinals

It’s unusual to talk about the first two minutes of a soccer game. It’s also unusual when the wind, howling from the north, helps knock in a corner kick.

But here we are.

Woodcreek junior Mia McSweeney hammered a curling corner kick two minutes into a playoff game against Del Oro on Wednesday night. The ball went through a gaggle of players. The officials said a Woodcreek player headed it; McSweeney couldn’t see what happened; all you could see from the Del Oro sideline was the ball weaving through a gaggle of players.

It doesn’t really matter to Woodcreek. The Timberwolves took a 1-0 win in the Division II quarterfinal.

“Whatever,”McSweeney said. “We got the win.”

Her teammates swarmed to her and celebrated the early tally. The Timberwolves are young, with just three seniors. McSweeney, a junior, is a team captain. She says this team is different from most.

Asked what the best part of the team is, implying the forwards, defense or midfield, McSweeney offered up an intangible.

“Our team chemistry off the field,” she said. “You can definitely see that when we play. I think it’s just fun like being around each other all the time. It’s really just like having family.”

That’s the idea, longtime coach Mark Bowman said. Asked what makes this team different from others he’s coached in the last 19 years, Bowman quickly said the group is more tight-knit than others. He credits a program that pairs a younger player with an older player in sort of a buddy system.

“We have a sister program,” he said. “They stay together all throughout the whole season and this group was kind of just … everybody wanted to be together. And I think it shows.”

It’s particularly visible on defense. The Timberwolves have allowed just six goals in 17 games, and none since Jan. 14.

Freshman goalkeeper Makena Tapia is the beneficiary of both stout defense and the team’s sister program.

“It’s nerve-wracking but a blessing to be able to be a part of this team,” she said. “Just making varsity first year, that’s step one. Winning playoffs, step two. Sections, step three.”

Step three will be tricky. The fourth-seeded Timberwolves head to top-seeded Granite Bay on Friday night for a semifinal. The Grizzlies have given up just five goals in 14 games.

Woodcreek will need to play more like it did in the first half against Del Oro, and not the second half, where the Golden Eagles got more aggressive and pelted Tapia with dangerous situations.

In the first half, Del Oro had just one shot on the Woodcreek net.

“I think we got a little nervous about not being able to finish the game to win, so we started playing conservatively,” Bowman said.

Conservative isn’t Woodcreek’s style, McSweeney said.

“We really like to press the other team. I think we like get a lot of goals off of that,” she said. “So we’re aggressive. And it seems to work.”

Del Oro was plenty aggressive in the second half. Asked to single out some players to highlight, coach Megan Harris simply said “all of them.” The Golden Eagles looked like a different team after halftime, taking 50/50 balls and winning headers to take control of the flow if not the final score.

“We just said they have 40 minutes left. And we said, ‘Give me 40. Everything you got, 40 minutes,” Harris said. “That’s all we asked all of the girls, and they did. They came off, they were mad. They’re not advancing, but they were happy with the effort and the 40 minutes they gave.”

So were the Del Oro fans, who came in equal numbers to the Woodcreek side. Some fans brought birthday balloons to celebrate striker Isabel Scott turning 16 years old. The boys’ soccer team was in attendance, hooting and hollering at every moment. After a lengthy postgame talk, the Golden Eagles lined up and took a bow for the crowd.

“Our town is so awesome,” Harris said. “When they found out where it was at Woodcreek, they’re like boom. All of a sudden, I turn to the crowd and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s more people here than at our home games.’”

This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 6:18 AM.