SANTA CLARA — Before she even stepped foot on the field, St. Francis junior Kamryn Rosa already had her mind set on a championship.
“I just came into the match knowing that I need to focus and not let my emotions get the best of me,” Rosa said. “I was telling myself we can’t go down.”
St. Francis’ Kamryn Rosa (9) scores a goal in the second half against Archbishop Mitty during the Central Coast Section Division I girls soccer championship at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Rosa stayed locked in throughout the entire 80 minutes, scoring two goals to lift St. Francis over Archbishop Mitty 2-1 Saturday at Santa Clara University and capture the CCS Division I championship.
The two teams played each other twice in the regular season with St. Francis winning a match and tying the other. But the Lancers got it done when it mattered most with the section title on the line.
“Mitty is definitely the best team we faced all season,” said St. Francis coach Carlos Barboza. “It’s difficult to beat a team twice in a season, but this team is special and they did a great job of preparing to get the job done.”
Both teams started off slow offensively as the first half was a defensive match for 40 minutes.
The Lancers had a chance to score at the end of the first half when forward Alexis Sweeney found space on the left side of the penalty box. But her shot was slightly off target as it hit the right goal post and both teams went into halftime tied at 0.
Mitty struck first in the second half. In the 54th minute, Senior Kiki Vostermans found Angie Cao on a corner kick. Cao located the ball up high and headed in Mitty’s first and only goal of the match.
Down a score with roughly 25 minutes left in the match, Rosa took matters into her own hands.
Four minutes after Mitty scored the match’s first goal, Rosa noticed Mitty’s goalie playing high in front of the penalty box. When the ball found her near midfield, the 5-foot-6 forward launched the ball over the goalie’s head and into the net to tie the game.
The goal woke up the St. Francis crowd as fans erupted in the stands.
“I saw the goalie was out of the box and thought maybe if I kick this I can either make it or I can make her beware to not come out of the box,” Rosa said.
Five minutes later, St. Francis found another transition opportunity. Senior midfielder Charlotte Kohler pushed the ball up the sideline until a Mitty defender stopped her near midfield.
Kohler spotted Rosa open near the middle of the penalty box and zipped her a pass that fell perfectly on Rosa’s left foot. Rosa gathered herself and fired a laser toward the left corner of the goal which touched the back of the net to give the Lancers a 2-1 advantage.
Mitty’s final chance to tie came in extra time. The Monarchs caught St. Francis out of position and the ball found senior Jordan Geis on the left side of the box. Geis shot a straight-line kick towards the center of the goal, but the shot was saved by St. Francis goalkeeper Arya Jamkhandi.
Ball game.
St. Francis’ run to the section title has largely been predicated on Rosa’s ability to score. Rosa had a hat trick in the Lancers’ first two playoff games and fell a goal shy of one against Mitty.
Rosa credits her chemistry with her teammates as the biggest reason she’s been able to get open looks.
“We’ve kind of got the hang of how we want to move in the attacking third,” she said. “It’s definitely a group effort. We’re all going really hard and I’ve just ended up getting on the end of it.”
St. Francis won its second consecutive section title under Barboza Saturday. The third-year head coach has gone to a CCS title game every year since taking over as head coach with his only loss coming in his first year in 2022.
Both teams will make CIF Norcals after making it to the section title game. For St. Francis, the goal will be to prioritize rest before its first round game next week.
“I want this last week to be super fun for them,” Barboza said. They’ve worked so hard and it’s a brand new team. So I want to take this next week to mentally prepare and take care of our bodies. And also just enjoy these last weeks with our seniors.”
St. Francis’ Charlotte Kohler (10) runs after the ball against Archbishop Mitty’s Murphy Walsh (25) during the Central Coast Section Division I girls soccer championship at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
St. Francis’ Kamryn Rosa (9), center, celebrates with the team after scoring her second goal against Archbishop Mitty during the Central Coast Section Division I girls soccer championship at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
St. Francis’ Kamryn Rosa (9), center, celebrates with the team after scoring her second goal against Archbishop Mitty during the Central Coast Section Division I girls soccer championship at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
St. Francis’ Kamryn Rosa (9), center, celebrates with the team after scoring her second goal against Archbishop Mitty during the Central Coast Section Division I girls soccer championship at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
St. Francis’ Skylar Brodie (17) kicks the ball against Archbishop Mitty’s Jasmyne Wheeler (27) during the Central Coast Section Division I girls soccer championship at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
St. Francis’ Kamryn Rosa (9) celebrates after scoring a goal against Archbishop Mitty during the Central Coast Section Division I girls soccer championship at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)