Girls Lacrosse: Amador Valley Places Second in NCS Tournament

Teresa Li scored two goals Friday and assisted on two more, but it wasn't enough to knock off the top-seeded Monte Vista Mustangs in Friday's North Coast Section Championship. 

No. 2 seed Amador Valley fell 6-5 to the undefeated Mustangs at Dublin High.

Monte Vista (23-0) has now won 33-straight games dating back to last season, and the Mustangs are back-to-back NCS champions. Amador (17-6) won NCS in 2008 and was one of the biggest threats to the Mustangs' perfection during the season. 

Friday's championship game was no exception.

"I think they played with a lot of heart," Amador coach Beth Braun said. "They had some great defensive plays and great transitions.  Couldn't finish as much as I wanted, but on the rest of it they did a great job."

The Mustangs came out firing and Lauren Goerz scored the first two goals for Monte Vista.  It stayed 2-0 until Li bounced one past Mustangs goalie Sarah Tucker with 6:44 left in the first.  Li also collected assists on passes to Geneva Desin and Amelia Major, who both scored with under three minutes to go in the half.  With each team's defenses in top form, Amador maintained a slim 3-2 lead at the break.

Helen Cai scored on a pass from Major to open up the scoring in the second half, the fourth straight goal for Amador. 

Thirty seconds later, Monte Vista started a run of their own.

At 18:21, Goerz fired a strong overhand shot that went straight down into the bottom right-hand corner of the Amador net.  Three minutes later, she added another, slinging a sidearm goal that tied the game 4-4.

Madison Mulford then gave Monte Vista back the lead off the Goerz dish with 8:29 left. Two minutes later, Li streaked down the field in a flash of purple and tied it 5-5.

With the game winding down, Amador goalie Caroline Federighi got a lot more aggressive, coming out of the crease to attack the ball and keep Monte Vista off the board.  After Amador struggled to drive the ball back and finish at the other end, the Mustangs capitalized.

With just four minutes to go, Mulford received the Goerz pass and placed her shot perfectly in the lower-left hand corner, sneaking it by Federighi's right foot to put Monte Vista ahead 6-5.

The Mustangs continued their attack over game's final minutes.  Amador gained possession with 1:32 to go, but hopes of a comeback were dashed after Goerz stole the ball at midfield.

Goerz and Li combined to either score or assist on 10 of the 11 goals on Friday.  They have been playing each other since middle school, and were on the same club team for four years.  Next year they'll be teammates again at Cal.

"I'm excited to play with her next year," Goerz said.  "She's so speedy and has very good stick work, so that will be really exciting."

Braun had nothing but good things to say about Li as well.

"She always leaves everything on the field," she said.  "She's a great player; she's going to have a great time at Cal.  I wish her the best."

After the game, Braun huddled everyone together one last time.  She reminded her team of how much they have to be proud of this season.

"AVHS!" the girls shouted in unison, a cheer likely to be heard in NCS for many seasons to come.

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North Coast Section Finals

Monte Vista 6, Amador Valley 5

Amador Valley (17-6) 3 2 — 5
Monte Vista (23-0) 2 4 — 6

Scoring: Amador Valley — Li 2, Cai, Desin, Major.  Monte Vista — Goerz 4, Mulford 2. 

Saves: Federighi (AV) 6, Tucker (MV) 8.