80 minutes of regulation was not enough to separate seven-seed Clayton Valley Charter and 10-seed James Logan on Wednesday night, as the teams battled to a scoreless regulation in the first round of the North Coast Section Division 1 playoffs on a wet and windy night.
Playing at James Logan, by virtue of the Colts being a league champion, play was evenly back and forth for most of regulation, though James Logan controlled possession down the stretch and looked to create opportunities before time ran out. Long throws gave the Colts a few good looks towards the Eagles' box, but Clayton Valley defenders were able to gain control on each occasion.
Early in overtime, the host Colts looked to establish control once again, pressing into the Clayton Valley half of the field. This time, however, two Eagle players were able to create a counter-attack off a long clearance which traveled 40 yards, and sophomore Jenna West was able to outrun a pair of Logan defenders, successfully corral the ball and deliver a right-foot shot which found its way just inside the near post for the golden goal.
With the win, Clayton Valley advances to face two-seed Carondelet. The Cougars rolled past an overmatched Irvington team in the first round, 5-0, getting a brace from junior Katherine Buckley to go with individual goals from Ellie Ospeck, Carissa Capinpin and Maddie Winter.
Top half of D1 bracket is all EBAL
With no major upsets in the top half of the Division 1 bracket, it will be four teams from the East Bay Athletic League meeting in the quarterfinals, while Carondelet represents the league in the bottom half of the bracket.
Top seed Monte Vista cruised past San Leandro, 6-0, as six different Mustangs scored in the victory and Lily Arbabaraghi notched a pair of assists. MV will meet nine-seed Granada, which ousted league mate Amador Valley, 2-1.
California took down Heritage, 1-0, on the strength of a goal from senior Nikki Trucco in the 38th minute, while San Ramon Valley used a first-half goal by Kylie Kerr to defeat Freedom, 1-0. SRV and California meet in the quarterfinals.
Liberty, Berkeley set for rematch
Freshman Madison Del Prado scored twice for Liberty in a 3-0 win over Castro Valley. The three-seed Lions had to travel to Castro Valley for the first round game, but will play host to Berkeley in the quarterfinals, albeit using cross-town rival Heritage as its home stadium while Liberty's facility undergoes renovations.
The Lions will face Berkeley for the second time this season, after defeating the Yellowjackets 1-0 during non-league play. Berkeley defeated College Park, 1-0, in its first-round match.
Top seeds advance in Division 2
There was one upset in the Division 2 bracket, with 11-seed Casa Grande ousting six-seed Maria Carrillo, 4-2, but the rest of the bracket held form.
Top seeds Livermore and Montgomery cruised to comfortable victories. Livermore got a hat trick from sophomore Alivia Krummen-Ganz during its 5-0 win over Alameda, while Montgomery routed Arroyo, 9-0.
No lower than a 10 seed anywhere else
Casa Grande turned out to be the lowest seed in any bracket to advance, as all eight top seeds in Division 3 moved on to the quarterfinals, while a nine and 10 seed won first round games in Division 4.
Nine-seed University got goals from senior Olivia Schirle and sophomore Eve Andersen to down Saint Mary's-Albany, 2-1, while 10-seed Sonoma Academy beat Marin Catholic, 3-1.
Division 4 top seed Cardinal Newman got a hat trick from senior Biffy Tosti in its 7-0 win over John Swett, while three seed Marin Academy got a brace from senior Elizabeth Kinney in its 7-0 win over Berean Christian.
Two-seed Branson got a pair of assists from junior Abby Dillon and goals from three different players in its 3-0 win over Moreau Catholic. The Bulls meet Sonoma Academy in the quarterfinals, while Marin Academy will clash with Urban, after sweeping the season series from the Blues during BCL play.
