Photos Below / Palo Alto Daily News Article

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – Dream...dream big. Prepare...prepare well. Set your goals and create a road map to go about achieving those goals. Be open minded and flexible enough to make the necessary adjustments that need to be made on every journey. Learn from every experience along the way especially when things don’t go your way…and do it all for the grace and glory of our Father.

The Valley Christian Girls Soccer team embodied this philosophy and set out on a journey that delivered them to new heights last night when for the first time ever they defeated Archbishop Mitty 1 – 0. It was not just any win though it was for the WCAL Championship.

“All of the girls that ever put on a VC Soccer jersey won tonight,” an elated Coach Jolene Keel expressed on the field after the game. “Over the years we have all set out with this in mind, this is a victory for our program.”

As it has been with the Lady Warriors play of late, the game began with VC sizing up their opponent, figuring out what they needed to do, all the while remaining calm and looking for their opportunity to capitalize. As the seconds ticked off of the clock the Warriors grew stronger, getting closer to their eventual goal. Mitty felt it too.

Chana’e Jones faced a barrage of shots in the first half. One that pulled Jones off of her line when she totally challenged an unmarked Katie Gordon as she approached the goal taking away the shooters angle to the goal then stopping a point blank shot. “This was the first time in many games that an attacker has broken though unmarked deep into our zone,” Assistant Coach Stryker commented. “Jonzie is a gamer, not only was she ready for the shot she thrives on the challenge.”

Another nil fist half and the Warriors found themselves in familiar territory. They were in that same position on Tuesday night with St. Francis. “We know what needs to be done, let’s finish this thing,” a focused Erin Vroom said at half time about completing their journey.

Then at the 48:00 minute mark Erin Vroom chipped a ball to Ali Cheadle who unleashed a shot toward Mitty keeper Jackie DesJardin who somehow managed to deflect the shot as she went to the ground. With relentless determination Ali Cheadle was able to maneuver around the downed goalie and tap the ball in for the goal.

With lots of time remaining it was imperative to keep the pressure on Mitty. The Lady Warriors were able to move the ball however Mitty still built some quality attacks. Once again as it has been all season long the defense rose to the occasion. Macie “General” McMillan teamed with Rachel Schweiger, Katie McLaughlin and Allison Power winning balls in the air and making critical clearings late in the game to preserve their first ever WCAL Championship.

The Warriors will now await the upcoming CCS seeding to begin preparations for the final leg of their journey. Stay connected with gowarriors.net for the latest information on opponents and game times for the CCS Tournament.