‘Amazing Group’ of Eagles Opens Soccer Playoffs with Road Win

After neither team scored in overtime in the first postseason game College of the Siskiyous' women's soccer team has ever played, Eagle goalkeeper Avery Suhr had a message for head coach Ed Kephart as they were walking onto the field. "I've got this," she said. "I'll save three and we'll win."

The freshman did better than that, saving 4 of 5 attempts from close range while the Eagles got PK goals from freshmen Harrisen Poe and Corynn Lemos to clinch the victory without needing their final kick Wednesday night at Los Medanos. The win advanced the Eagles into the second round of the NorCal Regional playoffs Saturday at Sierra College.

Seeded No. 19 in a 24-team bracket, the Eagles upended the No. 14 seed and became one of only three lower seeds to win on the road in eight Round 1 matches.

Freshman Brooklynn Wade continued her record-breaking season by scoring her 31st and 32nd goals of the season in regulation, with help from two of the team's top passers. Abigail Escobedo had her 12th assist of the season on the first goal. The second was assisted by freshman Jonell Alderson, her 8th of the season. Freshman Maddie Towner leads the team with 14 assists.

Playing tough defense against the Bay Valley Conference champions, Siskiyous led 2-1 until Los Medanos tied it late in the second half.

Neither team scored in a back-and-forth overtime period, so the match went to PK. The Eagles took the lead on Poe's goal, and the score was tied 1-1 after Suhr had saves on 3 of Los Medanos' first 4 tries. Kicking fourth for the Eagles, Lemos made the goal that proved to be the winner after Suhr made her fourth PK save.

The game started at 7 p.m. in Pittsburg, in the east Bay Area, and Kephart felt his Eagles from far Northern California were better suited to the mid-50s temperature with a little drizzle and a little breeze. "They were freezing, but it was a nice night for us," he said.

Los Medanos went 1-6-1 in its pre-conference games before going 8-0 in a Bay Valley Conference that wasn't as strong this season as many others. But they had scored a lot of goals along the way and "came at us quick with some shots on goal early," Kephart said. Suhr had several good saves in regulation and the defense, including Elyssa Harrison and freshmen Meadow Cummings and Maiyah McDonald, was locked in for most of the night.

Siskiyous' starting lineup, as it has in all 19 games this fall, included freshman midfielder Katie Effa.

These Eagles showed the potential to become the first women's soccer team in school history to win a playoff game while going 12-3-3 in the regular season. During their 7-0-1 pre-conference start, they outscored opponents by a combined 37-3 and had six shutouts. They then finished third in a strong GVC that sent four teams to the postseason.

Only two GVC teams remain after Round 1, the Eagles and conference champion Lake Tahoe, which is seeded No. 1 and opened with a bye. No. 15 Feather River lost at home to No. 18 Las Positas, 3-1, and No. 23 Butte lost at No. 10 Cosumnes River, 6-0.

Kephart, who has been coaching the Eagles' women's and men's soccer teams since the program began in 2017, said he was impressed by the confidence his freshman goalkeeper expressed going into the PK period. "I've been around soccer a long time and have never heard a kid say something like that," he said. Had the Eagles not clinched the victory on their fourth PK kick by Lemos, Suhr was scheduled to kick fifth.

Next up for the Eagles is a trip to No. 3 seed Sierra Saturday at 2 p.m. in Rocklin. "That's going to be a big mountain to climb," said Kephart, who described Sierra as one of the best teams in the state, a team in the same class as Lake Tahoe.

"We'll go out swinging, give it our best shot, and see what happens," he said. "Sometimes the best team on paper falls. If we win, awesome. If not, what an amazing group of kids this has been to coach."

By Steve Gerace