Prep girls’ soccer: Pioneer goalie Tamayo looms large in penalty kick victory

The Pioneer girls’ soccer team took home the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV girls’ soccer championship banner Wednesday night after knocking off Kimball in penalty kicks following 100 minutes of game action.

Goalkeeper Melissa Tamayo did everything but erect a brick wall in front of the net to ensure the win for Pioneer, as she stopped three shots and scored on her team’s fifth shot to seal the victory.

Tamayo was asked by reporters after the game if she had practiced penalties.

“We had practiced penalties once before,” Tamayo said with a smile, “and I was really bad!”

Well, maybe the experience paid off anyway. Tamayo seemed locked in during the penalty kicks, as she was throughout most of the game. Kimball had four one-on-one breaks, but Tamayo was unfazed. She shut down all four dangerous situations.

Tamayo plans to play soccer at Pacific Union College in the fall.

“You can’t believe how important this is,” coach Marco Mendoza said. “The vice-principal is here and even she got emotional. This is the first championship for us and we are beyond thrilled.”

The win was the Patriots’ first-ever section title. Pioneer went unbeaten in winning the Golden Empire Conference and now the Patriots look to next week’s NorCal tournament, to extend their magical run just a bit longer against the best of the best.

And it might not be a one-off appearance in the postseason. Pioneer has a young team, with just two seniors in the starting 11 and has eight freshmen on the squad.

There seems to be plenty of support for the Patriots. The crowd at Cosumnes River College was raucous; Pioneer gave them plenty to cheer about.

Kimball player Priscilla Gonzalez scored a header from a long-distance free kick at the 75th minute as her team took a one-goal lead. But stoppage time dragged on for Pioneer, which worked out for the Patriots as Isabella Mousakheel took a shot that flew into the Kimball goal to send the game to overtime.

Thanks to penalties by Mia Perez, Gali Bolivar and Tamayo, the Patriots persevered.

Wednesday’s game was highlighted by goalkeeper excellence. Jaguars goalie Jordan Claire had a breathtaking display as well. She had two one-on-one stops.

Despite the loss for Kimball, coach Ron Hatley is excited for next season.

Hatley said his girls genuinely love playing soccer together.

“They just have fun,” he said.

Hatley said character-building is the most important aspect of his job and sees the team as a youth ministry, just like his ministry in Oakland where he was a pastor for over 40 years.

Hatley said that his system of training junior varsity players for the varsity team will help them over the finish line next year.

“We don’t have a ton of club players,” he said. “Most of the girls only play for the school so they are familiar with one another. Next season we will only be better.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 3:40 AM.