The Branson School’s Charlotte Johnson had only been on the field for a matter of moments on Friday when an opportunity to make a huge impact on the North Coast Section Division III final presented itself to her.
Johnson pressured Marin Academy’s defense just enough to force a mistake in the 17th minute and she took full advantage. Johnson had an open goal to shoot at from just inside the 18-yard box and made sure she found the target, scoring the eventual winning goal in host Branson’s 3-1 victory.
“There were quite a few nerves,” Johnson said of that moment. “I’ve only scored before this twice in the season. I was like ‘I have to make this’ and I did.”
Johnson had only just subbed into the game after another Branson player received a yellow card.
“That’s a huge, huge moment in the game,” Branson coach Tyler Gottschalk said. “To put it on target and put us ahead 2-0 – especially because she had just stepped on without getting to run up and down – I’m so proud of her and happy for her to have that huge moment and ultimately it was the game-winning goal.”
The section title was the fifth for the Bulls – seeded third in D-III this year – in seven attempts since soccer moved to winter for the 2016 season.
“It feels so good,” said Branson’s Catrin Howell, who scored the opening goal. “I’m so grateful to be on this team and hopefully we keep playing and do well in NorCals.”
Friday’s NCS D-III championship marked the fourth high-profile playoff meeting between the two programs since the 2019 season. The Wildcats won the 2019 NCS D-IV semifinal before the Bulls bounced back with wins in NorCal title games in 2019 and 2020.
Both teams had already qualified for next week’s NorCal playoffs courtesy of semifinal victories on Tuesday. The seeding meeting takes place on Sunday.
The Bulls (21-1-4) seized control of Friday’s game early in the first half, getting goals from Catrin Howell — who fired a hard shot just under the crossbar in the 13th minute — and Johnson to grab a 2-0 lead.
Scoring twice as the opponent on Branson’s small pitch is a big ask but No. 4 Marin Academy (13-4-3) created a number of chances in the first half and pulled within 2-1 in the 27th minute following a corner kick won by Imogen Jenkyn.
Raya Leikin lofted the corner kick past Branson goalie Patricia DePalma at the near post. The ball was tantalizingly close to going over the line as players from both teams attempted to get a touch on it. Danica Blix was able to put the ball into the net to get MA back into the game.
MA kept the pressure on late in the first half, earning a few more corner kicks, but any momentum the Wildcats had built up was wiped away in the 37th minute when Branson striker Ally Hsieh was taken down inside the 18-yard box.
The referee awarded the Bulls a penalty, which Hsieh calmly slotted into the net for a 3-1 lead going into the break.
With a two-goal lead to play with, Branson’s priority entering the second half was to not give MA a way back into the game.
“We’ve been tested a lot before this season and we’ve had a lot of practice working up to this game,” Branson defender Caitlin Capitolo said. “We’ve been in situations like that before where the other team is doing everything they can to get their name back on the scoreboard. A lot of practice has gone into that and also communication is key.”
The Wildcats were limited to a few free kicks and some shots from distance that did little to trouble DePalma.
“We stayed tight on them and we’d let them take shots from range because we have a lot of trust in Patricia,” Johnson said.
MA’s most promising moment in the second half came when Leikin made a great turn around the edge of the 18 and fired a shot that went just above DePalma’s crossbar in the 68th minute.
