Western Sierra girls soccer continues 'dream season', ousts Victory Christian

ROSEVILLE– The undefeated Western Sierra Collegiate Academy girls soccer team (21-0, 15-0) held its Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII semifinal Thursday night against fourth-seeded Victory Christian (5-4-1, 5-2-1) at Roseville High School and sustained its flawlessness in a 5-1 victory. The No. 1 seed Wolves achieved their first ever undefeated league championship title. Their victory Thursday came by way of true team effort as five different players tallied goals for the Wolves. Senior Paige Carter scored first with an amazing shot from 25 yards out. This opening goal proved pivotal in establishing momentum in the Wolves' favor. Junior Brianna Wood added on with her team-leading 26th goal of the season. Her score was followed by a great individual display by senior Sophia Delis to give Western Sierra a commanding 3-0 advantage heading into halftime. Thoughts of sure victory subsided for a brief period of time, however, as Victory Christian came out strong in the start of the second half and scored a stellar free kick just outside of the 18-yard-box. Looking for a strong response of their own, the Wolves were able to come together as a team and ride goalkeeper Lindsay Lucas, who amassed six saves in the game. Western Sierra's strong defensive play through the rest of the game as well as added goals by senior Carina Lim and junior Hannah Wolthuis proved to be too much for the Vikings. Wolves' coach Gabriella Crosson relayed extreme praise for her girls. "Our coaching staff is so proud of these young ladies, especially with how they conduct themselves on the field and off of it," she said. "They have worked so hard to get to this point and deserve it… This is our dream season. I am very proud of our girls and having the opportunity to win the playoff championship title." The Wolves will now look toward Saturday's Section final against No. 2 Forest Lake Christian (8-6, 6-2). This is the second year in a row that the WSCA girls have made the Section championship but are looking to avenge losing that final with a title this season. Forest Lake (8-6) reached the title game with a first-round victory over LeRoy Greene Academy, 5-1, and a 6-2 win over John Adams Academy Thursday in the semis. The championship game will be held at Roseville High School Saturday, kicking off at 7:30 p.m. BOYS VOLLEYBALL Bear River, the No. 3 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III bracket, defeated No. 6 Golden Sierra in four sets and advance to the Section semifinals. The Bruins (24-5) will head to No. 2 El Dorado Tuesday for a chance to play for the D-III banner next Saturday. On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 Ripon Christian will host No. 5 West Campus Tuesday. In the Division II bracket, No. 3 Placer (23-16) was upset by sixth-seeded El Camino in Earl Crabbe Gym Thursday in four sets (16-25, 20-25, 25-20, 18-25). Top seed Nevada Union swept Laguna Creek and will host No. 4 Golden Valley Tuesday, while El Camino will take on second-seeded Vista del Lago in Folsom. In the D-I bracket, No. 1 Granite Bay beat No. 8 Monterey Trail and will host No. 5 Rocklin, who outlasted No. 4 Roseville in five sets, this coming Tuesday. No. 2 Elk Grove defeated No. 7 Woodcreek in four and will take on No. 3 Jesuit – 3-0 winners over No. 11 Yuba City – in the semis. TENNIS Bear River's Sophia Christen ran through four matches this week to take home the Sac-Joaquin Section Coed girls singles championship. She defeated Rachel Wilson of Amador, Mya Beary of Escalon, Anna Olson-Cruze of Waterford and Kate Hovetter of Sonora in the finals, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, to claim the title. Colfax's Sara Detwiler came in third place after going 1-1 in the bracket. Also for Colfax, the coed boys double team of Jake Green and Tucker Klopotek, each taking Offensive and Defensive MVP awards for the Pioneer Valley League football season this past fall, teamed up for a runner-up finish. Green and Klopotek won their first three matches before falling to Lindhurst's top pair in the finals. In other doubles tournament action, Placer's Brendan Moley and Matt Yee finished fourth overall in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II doubles championships. Placer's Nos. 1 and 2 players beat two opponents before losing to teams from Rio Americano and Vista del Lago. Granite Bay's pair of Pavan Murugesh and Matt Handy teamed to roll through three wins over duos from Stagg, Davis and Jesuit before falling in the finals of the Section D-I doubles bracket to Laguna Creek's Jan Silva and Henry Huang. Granite Bay's Bryce Burnham reached the semifinals of the D-I singles bracket before falling to Modesto's Coby McCaig. Rocklin's DJ Sobrepena also picked up a victory in the D-I singles tourney. In team play Friday, top-seeded Granite Bay shut out Cosumnes Oaks, 9-0, to reach the D-I semifinals against No. 4 Davis. No. 3 McClatchy and No. 2 Jesuit will tangle in the other side of the D-I bracket Tuesday. In D-II, top seed Rocklin defeated No. 8 Inderkum, 8-1, and will face No. 4 Pitman in Tuesday's semifinal. No. 3 Whitney shut down Bella Vista, 9-0, and will take on No. 2 Roseville, who outlasted No. 7 Tracy Friday, 5-4. In the D-III bracket, second-seeded Placer lost a heart-breaker to third seed Central Catholic, 5-4, Friday afternoon. The Raiders will play top seed Vista del Lago, who shut out No. 4 Mira Loma Friday, 9-0, in Tuesday's D-III championship match.