THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

After coming off a 1-0 triumph over Inderkum in the opening match of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs last week, the Whitney High girls soccer team kicked things up a notch to defeat No. 5 seed Bear Creek Friday. The Wildcats attacked Bear Creek from the start and took a 2-0 lead five and a half minutes into the match. Sarah Scott ripped a shot past the Bruins goalkeeper at 36:30 and a couple minutes later Shay Valenzano did the same. Valenzano’s goal came off an assist by Kiana English. “We worked all week long on shooting and finishing, and like Sarah and Shay that’s what we were doing,” said Whitney head coach Ana Jones. “We won, it was a good win. The first half was actually awesome, the second half, eh.” The ‘Cats’ Kiera Utush kicked a 15-yarder that went through the hands of Bear Creek’s goalie and rolled slowly across the goal line for the final score of the first half. Whitney went into the break with a 3-0 lead. Although the Wildcats kept up the pressure in the final 40 minutes, they were slow to find the net again. Whitney appeared to cruise in the late going until the Bruins caught the ‘Cats off guard and scored. “I would like to win 2-0 instead of 4-1,” Jones said. “That just means that they let my goalie down and we crumble because we’re (leading); we’re not on our toes. We’re up by three so who cares, right?” The final score was sealed by an alert Scott, who scored on a ricochet off the goal upright as time was winding down. Whitney was scheduled to host their semifinal match against Capital Valley Conference foe Cosumnes Oaks Wednesday. The ‘Cats lost a 2-1 decision to the Wolfpack Feb. 9 on senior night; Whitney defeated the ‘Pack 5-0 in January. Jones said she thought her players may have been distracted by the senior ceremony, resulting in the one-point loss. A win over Cosumnes Oaks would put the Wildcats in the finals against either No. 3 Granite Bay or No. 10 Roseville Saturday at either Cosumnes Oaks or Elk Grove high school. Jones said her team has great team chemistry and now sees the entire field and not just the goal.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

WILDCATS DEFEAT BEAR CREEK IN PLAYOFFS

JIM LINSDAU

Placer Herald | 3/1/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Whitney High School Athletics