Sophomore Allie Crum scored a wonder goal late in the first half and Los Altos held on for a 1-0 win over top-ranked Archbishop Mitty in a Central Coast Section Division II semifinal playoff match Wednesday night at Pioneer High School. With the win, the Eagles (13-5-3) advance to the championship Saturday (10 am, Valley Christian) against St. Francis (18-3-1), a 4-0 winner over Burlingame. The Monarchs (19-1-4) suffered their only loss of the season.
Frustrated by Mitty's high pressure that was preventing the Eagles from playing the ball out of the back, Los Altos initiated the winning goal with a direct ball out of the back to the front line. Junior Sophia Hyver laid the ball off to Crum just outside the penalty area and she let fly with a right-footed shot that soared into the upper left corner just out of the reach of Cal-bound senior goalkeeper Madeline Julian to make it 1-0. The halftime whistle blew just seconds later and for the first time all season, No. 1 Mitty faced a deficit.
In the second half, Los Altos sat back in a 4-5-1 and looked to counterattack through the combination of center mid Rebecca Andrews and Hyver, the lone striker. Mitty was masterful in possession, but the Los Altos backline, anchored by center backs Julia Goupil and Audrey Mays repelled attack after attack.
Junior Gabrielle Matulich provided a constant threat for the Monarchs, but each time, the Los Altos defense was up to the task. Los Altos freshman goalkeeper Carrie Wendelken made a nice save to deny a shot by Hannah Vane in the first minute of the second half as the Monarchs came out blazing after the break.
The Monarchs nearly broke through in stoppage time but a perfectly timed tackle by Mays denied Mitty forward Marquel Love just outside the penalty spot.
