Unbeaten SLO High girls soccer team advances on penalty kicks

The San Luis Obispo High girls soccer team survived its toughest test of the season, winning 3-2 on penalty kicks the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 playoffs on Tuesday against Claremont to remain undefeated.

Claremont (18-6-4) dominated much of the game — with 18 shots to San Luis Obispo’s six — and had eight corner kicks to the Tiger’s one. For the final 10 minutes of the second half, after a push by San Luis Obispo in the middle, the Wolfpack looked certain to score, with the ball rarely leaving the Tiger’s side of the field largely in part to their physical play and athleticism.

“We struggled with the physicality,” coach Leslie O’Connor said.

The Tigers tried to link the midfield to striker Amelia Corpuz Carr in counterattacks, but were forced off the ball or surrounded by defenders.

It didn’t matter in the end, as freshman Olivia Ortiz calmly scored the first penalty. Freshman Amber Nunes made the second, and after a miss, freshman Madison Johnson slotted home what proved to be the winning kick. Youth has been a key component of the Tiger’s success this year, and Tuesday night was no different.

“We practice and (the freshman) looked ready for it,” coach Leslie O’Connor said. A sophomore was set to kick the fifth.

Three missed penalty kicks by Claremont — two that missed high and one that hit the cross bar — decided the game after the two sides were deadlocked after regulation and two 10-minute sudden-death overtime periods. The Wolfpack missed their second, third, and fifth kicks.

Tiger sophomore goalkeeper Eislee Sohner had four saves in the overtime period to ensure the Tigers had a shot to win.

The first half saw each side with chances to score. In the 27th minute, a ball on a Claremont corner fell to the back post, where an attacker was waiting. Sohner saved a point-blank shot that rebounded and was sent over the crossbar on the second effort.

San Luis Obispo’s best chances of the first half came on set pieces after the Tigers won a pair of free kicks from the top of the box but were unable to convert. The Tigers also had a header saved off the line by the Wolfpack keeper.

San Luis Obispo (25-0-1) will now play San Marcos in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 8:28 PM with the headline "Unbeaten SLO High girls soccer team advances on penalty kicks."