NorCAL GIRLS: Danville Monte Vista Wins 1st NCS Championship

By Ben Malley
WSL Special Correspondent

DUBLIN, Calif. -- Senior middie Jillian Bush scored a game-high five goals to lead No. 14 Danville Monte Vista to a 17-8 victory over No. 18 California in the CIF-North Coast Section championship game Saturday afternoon at Dublin High School.

Senior attack Aimee Dewan and junior middie Lauren Goerz each added four points on three goals and one assist to help the Mustangs (19-4) win their first NCS title in school history.

“We were really fired up today,” Bush said. “We were second last year and really wanted this one bad. Our transition in midfield was great. We were able to move very quickly and get a lot of fast-break goals.”

Monte Vista junior goalie Sarah Tucker saved 12 shots, including some spectacular stops at point-blank range to deny what appeared to be a couple sure-fire Cal goals.

“Sarah played amazing, and Jillian was phenomenal today,” Goerz said. “When we won draws, we were usually able to score, and winning some draws early on allowed us to calm down and get things going.”

For California (16-7), junior middie Stacy Corich and sophomore middie Tracy Hong each scored twice.

Monte Vista defeated California for the third time this season, capping a perfect year against NCS teams. The Mustangs went 19-0 against the North Coast Section in 2009.

Tucker set the tone early when she made a few big saves to keep the game scoreless.

“Their goalie was excellent, and she made some great saves today,” California sophomore defender Brittany Ward said. “But, overall, we’re proud of what our team accomplished this year. We had a great season.”

Monte Vista led 7-4 at halftime and began to pour it on during the final 25 minutes. Goerz scored two quick goals to start the second half to make it 9-4, and Monte Vista never looked back.

“We were good on possession today, but we weren’t able to capitalize on all the opportunities we had,” Hong said.

Part of the reason for that was Tucker, who has bounced back from an injury early in the season to provide a huge boost for the Mustangs. On Saturday, she was stellar from start to finish.

“I was really happy to be able to come out today and contribute something to the team to help us out,” Tucker said.