Soccer athletes on the Winters AYSO 14u girls’ soccer team battled through rainstorms and wind while competing in the 2022 Section Two Tournament at Sea Cloud Park in Foster City last weekend.
The 14u girls’ team accepted the invitation to compete
after finishing first place in the Area 2D tournament in Davis on Nov. 19. They were also undefeated during the fall core season.
Winters represented one of eight regions in the 14u girls’ tournament bracket. Athletes went up against teams from Millbrae, Hillsborough, Mountain View, South Lake Tahoe, Burlingame, Mountain View and the Pleasant Hill – Martinez Soccer Association.
Relentless winds snapped umbrellas and sheets of rain poured down, but the athletes played on during day one on Saturday, Dec 10. Winters found itself keeping up with teams from the bigger cities and the athletes held their own.
In the first match-up, Winters played against the Hillsborough Blue Blazers and the score remained 0–0 until the very end when Hillsborough clutched a win making the only goal of the game. In the second match-up, Winters and Mountain View’s The Bubbles ended with a 0–0 draw. Since the tournament standings were based on a point system, they did not continue to play.
On Sunday, Winters athletes took advantage of the sunlight and shut down the Millbrae Glaciers in a 3–1 win. Joy Jacobson made Winters’ first goal of the game with an assist from Alexys Penunuri. Following, Jasmin Gonzalez and Penunuri each soared the ball into the goal from over 20 yards away.
Keepers Ciara Brown and Jackelyn Cooper teamed up again in the goal. Between the two, other teams were only able to get one goal past each of them in total during the first three match-up games.
Winters went head-to-head with the Mountain View Sour Pickles to compete for the third place standing. Which is when the clouds rolled back in and rained down on athletes again. Penunuri scored Winters’ one goal from over 20 yards away, again. However, Mountain View was able to slide one in to tie up the score.
Neither team was able to successfully score another goal for the remainder of the game and the teams picked their five players to attempt a victory in a penalty shootout during the rainfall. Cooper took command in the goal for Winters, only allowing one by. However, Winters was unable to get any goals past the Mountain View keeper.
In the end, Winters took fourth place in the tournament of the eight 14u regional teams.
Coach Ana Garcia commended her team’s talents and efforts for each having a part in getting them to the section tournament and a fourth-place standing. Garcia said it was “amazing, especially coming from a small town competing against teams that are way bigger” than Winters.
“This team is very talented. They have all worked together as a team to remain undefeated in their season. They have bonded over the last 15 weeks and it definitely showed on the field,” Garcia said.
This year’s Winters AYSO 14u team’s roster includes Isabella Banuelos, Lola Barsotti, Ciara Brown, Stephanie Campos, Lilyana Ceja, Jackelyn Cooper, Andrea Diaz, Jasmin Gonzalez, Eden Graham, YaQuelin Gutierrez, Joy Jacobson, Jayde Mathias, KaleAnn Myers, Alexys Penunuri, Ana Salgado and Joanna Vazquez.
