Sanger High girls get enough offense to post 2-0 section Division II quarterfinal

Ángel Cabral and the Sanger High girls soccer team served notice Thursday night that the boys team is not the only game in town.

But, it wasn’t easy on a chilly evening when Sanger dominated on offense but couldn’t score against St. Joseph’s goalkeeper Brenna Sonsini until the final 9 minutes of play in their CIF Central Section Division II playoff quarterfinal at Tom Flores Stadium.

“I was already thinking about the overtime, to make the adjustments for it,” said Cabral, who saw a closely matched game turn in his favor with 8:20 left in the game when senior midfielder Karina González slipped through the St. Joseph defense and scored the only goal that Sanger would need.

Teammate Diana García, also a senior, scored on a 30-yard free kick on the final whistle to give the top-seeded Sanger girls a 2-0 win.

“I knew they were a tough team to beat, but I don’t expect any easy games in the playoffs,” said Cabral, whose team improved to 22-5-1.

“St. Joseph’s did the best they could; we did too,” he added. “But at the end we worked the hardest and we won.”

Sanger will host Centennial of Bakersfield in a semifinal match next Tuesday (Feb. 22).

St. Joseph’s tried to get long passes to Zorah Coulibaly, but the forward was unable to steer several shots into the goal. Some shots almost scraped the side posts.

Cabral is not ready to compare the girls team to a boys team that is battling in the Division I playoffs and won a 2020 Northern California title.

“Every year we’re getting better and better. Now, it’s not just the boys,” said Cabral. “Now it’s the Lady Apaches.”

González, the team’s leading scorer with 37 goals, was frustrated her shots weren’t going in until her late score.

“I got a great pass from my teammates, and I’m very thankful that they played me that ball because I knew I could score,” said González. “I knew I could make one if there’s one I can make.”

There was a reason González was thwarted on defense.

“St. Joseph and their goalie were very smart. They knew who I was because the whole game they’d be saying, ‘Watch her’ the entire game,” said González. “They tried shutting me down. That was pretty smart.”

As to a friendly rivalry with the Sanger boys’ team, González said, “I think we’re as good as the boys.”

García was just happy Sanger got the win.

“In the first half we were obviously going in with a lot of nerves, and obviously we couldn’t let that happen because it’s an important game,” said García. “Overall, we just did really good and I’m super proud of this team.”

She applauds the Apache boys’ team.

“Our guys’ team is really good. Props to them,” she said. “I know that we’re like the underdogs, but we’re just as good.”