Girls Lax: Amador Valley Outlasts Acalanes 8-7 in NCS Quarterfinals

Beth Braun had just spent the last ten minutes watching a 7-2 lead evaporate.  Amidst the noise of the suddenly invigorated Acalanes crowd, the Amador Valley coach could feel the game slipping away.

No need to worry, coach.  Friday night was Major's night.

With the game now tied 7-7, Amador's Amelia "Braveheart" Major caught the pass from Jessica Daut and rifled it into the top-right corner of the net with just 18 seconds left.  That proved to be the game-winner as Amador (16-5) held off the Acalanes 8-7 in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Section playoffs.

"I wasn't expecting to do it.  It just kind of happened," said Major, who had three goals and one assist.  "We didn't want to go into overtime.  I didn't want this to be my last game.  I just needed to score."

Amador faces East Bay Athletic League rival Carondelet at home Wednesday in the NCS semifinals.

Acalanes (16-7) came into the game as the Diablo Foothill Athletic League champions and victors of 12 straight.  Amador handed Acalanes its first loss since March 30.

"We made it more exciting than it needed to be," Braun said.  "They're a tough team and they're tough to beat.  I'm happy that we escaped with a win."

The first half was all Amador. 

Major scored first on a nice give-and-go from Daut.  Helen Cai netted a free shot at 9:14, then two minutes later served it up to Corrine Logan, who put it past Acalanes goalie Ariana Johnson. 

With time winding down in the first half, Erin McGillivray sprinted down the left side and passed to Daul who scored with 17 seconds to go.  Amador goalie Caroline Federighi knocked down everything Acalanes threw at her and Amador led 4-0 at the half.

The only thing that wasn't going Amador's way was the draw controls.  Acalanes junior Elizabeth Landry was dominant in getting her team the ball off draws and in the second half her shots started finding their way into the Amador net.

Two Amador goals — McGillivray's backdoor score on a wraparound pass from Major and Cai's second goal after a beautiful needle-threading pass by Daut — were bookended by Landry goals.  After Major scored on a breakaway to make it 7-2, Landry found net again to spark a 5-0 Acalanes run in which she also had two assists.

"I was very nervous because we had a pretty good lead, and then we made a lot of mistakes that made it very close," Braun said.  "When things get that tight, and the momentum swings to the other team, things could turn out differently than you want them to."

Braun tried double-teaming Landry and Devon Frazer, who assisted on all three of Landry's goals and added one of her own — the game-tying goal with 1:58 to play.  Ultimately it took the total team effort of Amador and some Major last-minute heroics to pull out the victory. 

"It was tough, but in the end, when the draw mattered — we got it," Braun said.  "I am proud of the team that they didn't give up.  It was tough and it was tight, but they pulled it out in the end."

Box score:

Amador Valley 8, Acalanes 7

Amador Valley (16-5) 4 4 — 8
Acalanes (16-7) 0 7 — 7

Scoring: Amador Valley — Major 3, Cai 2, Daut, Logan, McGillivray. Acalanes — Landry 3, Winslow 2, Frazer, Neff. 

Saves: Federighi (AV) 7, Johnson (AH) 9.

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