El Capitan soccer playoff run ends with overtime loss to Manteca.
The historic playoff run by the El Capitan High girls soccer team came to an end on Tuesday with a 3-1 overtime loss to No. 3 seed Manteca in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinals.
The No. 2 seeded Gauchos finished one win shy of a shot at a section championship.
“It’s like being able to see the steak but we can’t eat it,” said El Capitan coach Jose Duran.
The Gauchos (16-6-2) were oh so close.
With the game tied at 1-1 in the final minutes of regulation, El Capitan star Anaya Shelton drew a foul in the penalty box. Shelton, who is one of the top scorers in the state with 49 goals lined up for the penalty kick.
However, Shelton’s attempt hit the crossbar as she collapsed to her knees.
“Disappointment, that’s what I felt,” Shelton said. “For sure, disappointment sad. I thought I hit it right. Sometimes they don’t go in.”
The Gauchos struggled to regroup as momentum shifted with the Buffaloes.
The game went to overtime and Manteca seized control as Kaley Miller scored her second goal of the game to give the Buffaloes a 2-1 lead in the 83rd minute. Miller scored from the right side, depositing the ball into the left corner of the net.
The Gauchos did their best to come up with an equalizer, but couldn’t find the net.
Manteca eventually tacked on an insurance goal from Kaylee Gines to extend the lead to 3-1 in the 88th minute.
A few moments later the final whistle sounded. Shelton again dropped to her knees, as did junior Haley Espinoza. Both were in tears as Manteca celebrated its victory.
“It hurts,” Duran said. “We put a lot into this. We gave it our all.”
“It’s tough seeing us lose because we worked so hard throughout the year,” Shelton said. “We made history. It was a lot of fun. This group had a lot of chemistry. Everyone worked together.”
Duran says the loss will serve as motivation for next year, especially with so many young players on the team.
Freshman Juliet Ramirez scored the first goal of the game for El Capitan with a header in the first half.
“We have a lot of young players and we accomplished so much,” Duran said. “The school has a lot to be proud of. This has been incredible.”
