Oakdale girls soccer, Escalon girls basketball earn NorCal playoff wins
Seven Stanislaus District boys and girls basketball and soccer teams competed in the opening round of the CIF Northern California Regional Championships on Tuesday evening. The goal is simple: Ride the wave as long as they can, winning games in the single-elimination tournament with the hopes of qualifying for a state championship.
Basketball state championship games have been around for decades, but for the first time, boys and girls soccer teams will have the chance to compete for a state title. The NorCal and SoCal champions in each division face off Friday and Saturday, March 13-14, at Natomas High School in Sacramento.
Just three teams hosted competitions Tuesday, all were in soccer: No. 1 in D-I Gregori, No. 2 in D-III Oakdale and No. 3 in D-V Ripon Christian.
One final local team will play in a NorCal Regional game Wednesday. Modesto Christian hosts De La Salle in the first round of the Open Division boys basketball postseason at 7 p.m.
Basketball
No. 5 Branson 64, No. 12 Beyer 46 at College of Marin
Division: Boys D-III
Recap: A season that saw Beyer set a new program record for consecutive wins, reach the first section title game in nearly a decade and claim back-to-back Western Athletic Conference titles ended Tuesday with a loss to the No. 5 seed Bulls in the opening round of the NorCal playoffs. The Patriots finished a perfect 14-0 in WAC play. While they will lose three seniors in Troy Norvell, Rodney Oliney and Jordan Capell, every other player will be back next season, including Curtis Harmon, James McGee and Keimani Thompson, who led the team in scoring and rebounds. Beyer finishes the season 25-8 overall, tying a program record for most wins in a season.
No. 8 Scotts Valley 57, No. 9 Central Catholic 51 (OT)
Division: Girls D-III
Recap: Central Catholic led 34-32 after the third quarter, but ultimately fell to Scotts Valley in a competitive No. 8 vs No. 9 matchup. After the two teams finished tied at 47 at the end of regulation, Scotts Valley outscored Central Catholic 11-4 in overtime to take the first-round victory. Ayla Parcon scored a team-high 16 points and added six rebounds, Mia Cardoza added 12 points and nine boards, and Samantha Nichols added nine points and team highs in assists (4) and steals (6). In the Raiders’ record-breaking season, they finished with the most wins and the best win percentage in recent school history, tied with East Union for the Valley Oak League championship, the program’s first VOL title ever and first championship in any league since 2000. They also made their first Sac-Joaquin Section championship since 2000. Their season ends at 27-3 overall.
No. 4 Escalon 56, No. 13 Healdsburg 37
Division: Girls D-V
Recap: Escalon got off to a slow start, leading 13-6 after the first quarter. After a 7-2 second-quarter run, the Cougars held a 20-8 advantage that powered them through the rest of the half. By halftime, they were ahead 34-11. They held a 51-25 lead after the third quarter and coasted to victory. Arianna Velasco scored a game-high 22 points, Avery Bartelink added 14 and Ayana Cocio posted nine points on three made threes.
Escalon head coach Joe Dalpogetti said that despite losing in the section semifinals, they got new life in NorCals. The Cougars are “playing with house money” in the state tournament. He said playing into March is special. The Cougars have one guaranteed home game left in their season, a contest Thursday at 7 p.m. against No. 5 Durham. The Trojans finished a perfect 12-0 in the Sacramento Valley League and finished as the Northern Section Division V runner-up. Durham beat Castilleja in the first round.
Soccer
No. 4 Vintage 4, No. 5 Turlock 2
Division: Boys D-II
Recap: This year, Turlock advanced to its first section title game since the 2018-19 season. The Bulldogs won the Central California Athletic League outright and made their second Northern California regional tournament. Though the Bulldogs fell in the section title game to Davis Sr. High, they were eager to get a shot at a state championship. They fell behind Vintage 1-0 early, but answered with a goal to tie it at 1-1 shortly after. Vintage scored twice to take a 3-1 lead at halftime in Napa. Turlock cut the lead to one in the second half but could not even the score.
Turlock finished 14-4-4 overall, finishing with at least 14 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since it made deep playoff pushes from 2016-17 to 2019-20 seasons, where they won no less than 17 games. They finished 9-1 in CCAL play with a senior-led team that had four players with more than five goals.
No. 8 Carondelet 2, No. 1 Gregori 0
Division: Girls D-I
Recap: The Jaguars were the No. 1 team in the top division in Northern California after winning the D-I Sac-Joaquin Section championship over Davis Sr. High in penalty kicks. They entered the NorCal regional playoffs as the No. 2 team in California and the No. 23 team nationally, but were upset by Bay Area powerhouse Carondelet, a team that finished inside the top 10 in the state rankings in six of the last 10 full seasons. Carondelet senior Madeline Roder scored two goals, both assisted by sophomore Mercy Karson in the first half to secure the win.
The loss is Gregori’s first in its historic season. Heading into the contest, the only blemish was a tie to Oakdale. The Jaguars finish the season as undefeated CCAL champions with a 23-1-1 overall record. They outscored their opponents 93-6 on the season and allowed just two goals during regular season matches. UC Merced-bound senior Grace Rodriguez finished 18th in California in points (88) and 23rd in goals scored (37). University of Oregon signee Kylie Farmer ranked 21st in the state with 21 assists.
No. 2 Oakdale 1, No. 7 Pleasant Valley 0
Division: Girls D-III
Recap: The third time was the charm for the Oakdale girls soccer team, winning its first CIF Northern California Regional playoff match after falling in their its two appearances. It took a game-winning second-half goal from freshman Skyler Burford after both sides were knotted at zero for most of the contest. In the 60th minute, sophomore Kaia Cox controlled the ball and found Burford, who gave the Mustangs their first lead of the match. Senior goalkeeper Avery Gleason earned the shutout win with four saves. Oakdale head coach Kico Monares said getting over the hump in the playoffs has been a talking point for the team. They reached their first goal, winning a section title, then reached new heights Tuesday. Now, Monares said, “we’re playing with house money, I guess you could say.”
The Mustangs are 22-2-2 and finished Valley Oak League play 12-0. The 22 overall victories are the most wins of any team in program history. They take on a consistent Sac-Joaquin Section playoff contender in Colfax on Thursday. Since 2004, Oakdale has not had a win over Colfax, posting a 0-1-2 record. The schools’ most recent matchup was a 1-1 tie in 2014. The Falcons also enter Thursday’s 5 p.m. matchup with a 22-2-2 overall record.
No. 3 Ripon Christian 3, No. 6 Live Oak 0
Division: Girls D-V
Recap: Ripon Christian scored all of its goals in the first half, benefiting from two scores by sophomore Kylie Koolhaas and one goal by junior Brooke Barnes. Koolhaas and senior Alanna Blanco each tallied assists. Senior goalkeeper Morgan Schenk earned the shutout and tallied seven saves in the win.
The Knights are back-to-back Sac-Joaquin Section champions, beating Big Valley Christian in Division VI last season and Stone Ridge Christian this year. Ripon Christian is searching for its second straight trip to the regional final. Last season, the Knights beat Granite Hills and Oakland Tech without allowing a goal before losing to Lowell in the NorCal championship. In this year’s NorCal journey, they hit the road for Thursday’s 4:30 p.m. matchup against No. 2 Watsonville in the regional semifinals. Ripon Christian is 18-7-1 overall entering Thursday’s match.
