Hart High girls soccer players showed the maturity and restraint of women twice their age Tuesday.
Word began to spread at halftime of the Indians’ 3-0 road win over Golden Valley that across town Valencia was on its way to a loss to Saugus.
That meant Hart was headed for a fourth straight Foothill League title.
Still, the Indians bench featured only whispers, giddy smiles and one gasp from defender Mia Labrador as players learned of the Centurions’ upset win that ultimately dropped the Vikings five points behind Hart with one game to play.
Girls soccer: You could say Hart is a little excited. 4X Foothill champs haven’t lost in league since 2013. pic.twitter.com/2WWtW3l0Md
— Signal Sports (@SignalSports) February 8, 2017
Finally, after the final whistle, Hart hugged and screamed and laughed. And for good reason.
The outright champs haven’t lost a Foothill game since 2013.
Senior defender Kassie Matthews’ conversation with her mom just about sums up the scene.
“At halftime my mom called me over,” Matthews recalled afterward, “and she’s like, ‘Kassie, come here.’ I was like, ‘Wait, what’s up? Do I have something on my face?’
“She said, ‘No, just wanted to let you know that Saugus is up 1-0. … You can’t tell anyone because it might ruin the momentum that we have right now.’”
It wasn’t a problem.
Taylor Scott scored two similar goals, one in the first half, one in the second, both by way of long through balls. Her second score came 10 minutes after halftime and was followed in the 62nd minute by Izabel Reyes’ breakaway score.
MORE SOCCER: Valencia boys one step closer to milestone record
The Indians (18-2-4 overall, 6-0-3 in Foothill) have outscored Foothill opponents 23-6. But the title run wasn’t easy.
Hart opened with three straight confidence-shaking ties.
“We were all worried like, ‘Is this going to be the year we lose the title,’” said Matthews, a member of all four title teams. “…Then when we got the first win, we were like, ‘No, we can feel ourselves starting to get the momentum.’”
Girls soccer final: Hart 3, GV 0. W/ Valencia loss, Indians win 4th straight Foothill title outright pic.twitter.com/SzSLD3awWV
— Signal Sports (@SignalSports) February 8, 2017
Hart rattled off six straight wins, three decided by one goal.
“We had a shaky start, it would be easy for us to lose control or fall apart, and we rallied back,” said fourth-year coach Guilherme Mitrovitch.
Hart’s last league loss came to Valencia on Feb. 5, 2013.
Golden Valley is 5-14-2 overall and 0-9-0 in league.
