‘Vamos!’ San Ramon Valley’s road Wolves never say die one more time to reach first CIF soccer state title game
SAN JOSE — San Ramon Valley is used to winning on the road.
The Wolves entered Saturday’s CIF NorCal Division II championship game against Archbishop Mitty having won four consecutive playoff matches away from home, most recently traveling to Folsom and Santa Rosa to secure victories.
So it was nothing but muscle memory when the Wolves had their back against the wall as Mitty unleashed an array of chances late in the second half in San Jose.
But SRV held on thanks to a key save from goalkeeper Emma Henzi, then freshman Morgan Van Puffelen was ready for her moment. She found the ball at her feet in the 72nd minute and unleashed a high shot from the edge of the box, beating Mitty’s keeper off the hands and in for the winning goal.
Ballgame. SRV 1, Mitty 0.
The Wolves will now head to the first CIF Division II state championship game on Friday in Sacramento.
It’s a bit of a trip from Danville. That hasn’t stopped them yet.
“I knew my team had it,” Van Puffelen said. “We had it in us to win from the start. We just keep going.”
SRV’s team motto is “Vamos,” and the Wolves recited it again and again while celebrating with the trophy Saturday afternoon. The slogan typifies the persistence they’ve shown in pulling out a plethora of close contests during this run.
“That’s our team,” Van Puffelen said.
For coach Mark Jones, a 20-year veteran at SRV (16-3-2), the win in the Wolves’ first NorCal final was a cathartic culmination of numerous close calls through the decades.
“They were stepping on us pretty good in the second half,” Jones said. “We were trying to actually figure out a system to prevent a little bit of that and counter that pressure. But soccer is a funny game. You get in the right spot and the right girl gets it on her foot, and she just found the back of the net.”
Mitty (17-5-1), no stranger to NorCal finals, failed to win its second NorCal title in three years while making its third consecutive appearance. But Monarchs coach JT Hanley thought his players still passed the proverbial test with the way they performed.
“I could not be more proud of these guys,” Hanley said. “Not just for the way they played today, which I thought was amazing. I mean, in terms of all of the metrics other than the score, I thought we played a great game of soccer today. I give credit to San Ramon Valley for sticking with their plan, and the ball ended up on the foot of a kid who held her nerve and hit a great, deserving match winner.”
Van Puffelen has been a key addition to SRV’s team, assisting on the Wolves’ winner in their 1-0 semifinal victory at Cardinal Newman on Thursday.
On Saturday, her chance to find the back of the net arrived. She didn’t miss it.
“As soon as Emma made that save, I knew it was on, and we needed to step up and get that goal.” Van Puffelen said, “I didn’t (know it was in) at first, and then I looked and it was. Then it was just a moment of shock and relief at the same time. It’s so amazing. I love this group of girls so much. My first year playing on a high school team as a freshman and I love it, and I’m so glad that we made it this far. I can’t wait (for state), and I hope we take it home from there too.”
SRV, the No. 7 seed in the CIF NorCal bracket, will face the winner of SoCal No. 8 Westview and No. 2 Westlake at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Natomas High.
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