The crème-of-the-crop. The elite.            

            All these words are adjectives that are used to describe the best in the business for whatever subject. The Transbay showdown between the undefeated San Francisco city-champions, Lowell, and the Oakland city champions, Oakland Technical High School, echoed these words. 

           On May 19, the girls’ varsity soccer team went toe-to-toe against the Bulldogs on their home turf, getting a taste of East Bay fans and their style of soccer. From the outset, the fans were rowdy and the play was up-tempo, a style unseen in the AAA.

In an effort to silence the fans, junior right-winger Lupe Gamez worked her magic, weaving through the Tech defense and majestically placing the ball into the corner of the net, giving the Cards an early lead.

The Cardinals stretched their lead right before halftime when junior right forward Lilianna Pedroni scored a goal off of a corner kick from sophomore center midfielder Gabrielle Rustia.

Perhaps overconfident, the Cardinals came out sloppy in the beginning of the second half, something that AAA teams usually will not capitalize on. However, the Cardinals were playing against Oakland’s finest and were punished accordingly, quickly conceding two goals.

            Though the Cardinals gave up the two quick goals, their resilience and organization allowed them to score once more — coming from the ever-so-reliable Rustia — giving the Cardinals a 3-2 victory.

           Before proving themselves to be the best in the Transbay, the Cardinals had to win the showdown against the second-best San Francisco team. Coming into the May 10 championship game, the Cardinals had a flawless 14-0 league record and had outscored league opponents 69-4. Their opponent, the O’Connell Boilermakers, was the only team that had scored more than one goal against the Cardinals.

That previous match, however, was history. And history is not meant to repeat itself. On May 10, the girls made a mockery of the Boilermakers, quickly piling up goal after goal against the overmatched defense. The Cardinals were led by Rustia, who dominated the midfield and added a hat-trick.

            Lowell’s dominance of the soccer field will continue next year, as the Cards are graduating only two seniors and keeping 10 of their 11 starters, most notably sophomore goalie Rachel Baskin, sophomore center midfielder Gina Cargas, Gamez, Pedroni and Rustia. 

                        MVP

The Lowell’s choice for most valuable players are Gamez and Rustia. The two combined for the majority of the Cardinals’ goals and with their creative play and understanding of the game, were able to control the tempo of every game and lead the Cardinals to their second undefeated season in three years.