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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.
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