El Capitan girls soccer earns first playoff win, avoids major injury to star player
This El Capitan High girls soccer team continues to be trailblazers for the program.
The Gauchos added another first to the list on Wednesday, earning the program’s first playoff win with a 1-0 victory over No. 15 Rosemont at El Capitan High School.
The list of firsts also includes the Gauchos’ first Central California Conference championship this season.
“We didn’t come this far last year,” said El Capitan junior Haley Espinoza, who scored the only goal in the match. “This is a huge accomplishment for each of us.”
It didn’t come without some nervous moments.
First, was the Gauchos inability to get the ball into the back of the net despite controlling the action the entire game. El Capitan peppered shots at the goal during the first half but still went into intermission scoreless.
“At halftime I told them that anything can happen,” said El Capitan coach Jazmin Duran. “We’ve got to want it. We’ve worked so hard this season.”
The trend of the Gauchos controlling the ball and missing shots continued into the second half.
Finally, Espinoza fired a shot that found the left corner of the net about midway through the second half to give the No. 2 seeded Gauchos a 1-0 lead.
“I was so happy, very happy,” Espinoza said. “I’m calm now. The anxiety finally went away.”
The Wolverines (9-12) kept 11 players back on defense, which made it tougher for the Gauchos to score. However, it also prevented Rosemont from ever seriously threatening to score.
The second nervous moment for the Gauchos (15-5-2) came late in the game when leading scorer Anaya Shelton went down with an ankle injury and had to be carried off the field.
Shelton, who came into the match ranked seventh in the state with 48 goals this season, was able to walk after the game. She only has two days to heal before the Gauchos play a quarterfinal game against the winner No. 7 Kimball and No. 10 Antelope on Thursday at El Capitan High.
“It scared me, knowing that we have another playoff game to play” Duran said. “She’s a big part of our team. She’s going to be OK. She’s a tough cookie.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 5:56 PM.
