Girls soccer: Branson separates from the pack following win at Marin Catholic

On a night when the MCAL playoff picture really came into focus, Julia Myerberg scored a goal and had an assist to put the Branson School girls soccer team in prime position to make a run at the league title following a 2-0 victory at Marin Catholic on Monday.

“She’s been fantastic for us all season long and was definitely leading the charge out there tonight,” Branson coach Tyler Gottschalk said.

Branson’s victory combined with Redwood’s win at San Marin and San Rafael’s upset of Tam broke apart a title race that saw the top five teams separated by one point less than a week ago.

Branson (14-1-2, 4-0-1 MCAL, 13 points) and Redwood (14 points) have moved three and four points clear of the pack, respectively, with Branson still having a game in hand.

The decisive moments for the Bulls against MC (3-6-4, 2-2-2) came back to back in the 32nd and 34th minutes. Branson was already up a goal but MC was attacking inside Branson’s final third.

Branson’s back line cleared a long ball up to midfield for forward Luna Diaz to chase. Diaz used her pace to beat one MC defender to the ball then got into a footrace with MC center back Savannah Browne. The two players raced toward the ball and MC’s 18-yard box then the game took a turn in Branson’s favor.

“There was a coming together of both players and the referee saw it one way,” Gottschalk said.

The ruling was a clear denial of a goal-scoring opportunity resulting in a red card and MC would be down to 10 players for the remaining 50 minutes.

“Unfortunate for Savannah that’s the way it went and for the game to lose a player like Savannah, because she is such a good player and so important for MC, obviously it was a boost for us. There’s no denying that,” Gottschalk said. “If a player of that caliber has to leave the field, you gain some confidence. It was a call that went for us tonight and definitely made a difference the rest of the game.”

Myerberg lined up to take the ensuing free kick from about 25 yards from goal. She sent her shot up and over the wall but it ricocheted off the crossbar and MC was given a temporary reprieve.

“I’ve been working with Tyler a lot on just shaping the ball around and so I was trying to do that,” Myerberg said. “Super close but hit the crossbar, sadly.”

Within a minute, Myerberg found herself with an opportunity to score during the run of play with the ball at her feet about 30 yards from goal. Myerberg blasted a shot above MC goalie Juliana Sokolov but comfortably under the crossbar for a 2-0 lead.

“I was super happy,” Myerberg said. “I think for a lot of the game we had a lot of chances. I’m glad to be able to finish one of them and just take advantage of maybe a shorter goalie.”

MC faced a tough task – down a player and down two scores – to climb back into the game. Branson limited MC to a handful of corners and free kicks taken from long range. Branson goalie Charlotte Houser caught everything MC sent her way to earn the clean sheet.

“The back line is totally new players, a lot of sophomores and kind of a whole new back line of girls who haven’t been playing together so far,” Houser said. “We’ve been doing so well this season. I’m so proud of them. I think everyone has been doing a really good job of being there for each other, everyone knows each other and gives 100 percent of their effort.”

Part of the reason for the new back line was that Gottschalk moved center back Sophie Arnal up to the left wing in place of Giselle Hernandez who was unavailable to play on Monday night.

The move paid dividends in the 24th minute when Myerberg sent a cross in toward Arnal at the back post. Arnal controlled the ball and put it into the net for a 1-0 lead.

“For me, the way she took it down, is what made it really a special goal,” Gottschalk said. “Because – at least the way I remember it – like on the turn she brought the ball down with her chest and guided the ball in front of her so she was now facing goal and then what a fantastic first touch and finish.

“That was a great pick out by Julia but just an unbelievable first touch by Sophie to eliminate that back line and get herself facing goal then she made no mistake.”

Branson created a handful of breakaway opportunities to extend the lead in the second half, most notably when Diaz played a cross through two defenders to Anya Sridharan in front of goal. Sokolov came up with a huge save to keep MC within striking distance.

“(Sokolov) made a fantastic save,” Gottschalk said. “Anya hit it low to her right and she full extension tipped it wide of the post. It was a fantastic save that kept them in the game really because if we get it to three, you figure lights out.”

The victory, paired with a 2-0 non-league win over MC in the preseason, allowed the Bulls to reclaim the Battle of the Blues trophy after MC had won it each of the previous two seasons.

“We’ve missed the trophy a lot,” Houser said. “We’re glad to bring it home. It’s such a big game for the team and it’s so much fun to come out here and play under the lights, it was a super exciting game.

Around the county

• Freshman Stefani Brandt scored following a corner kick taken by Darby Fones to lift San Rafael to a 1-0 win against Tam on Monday. The Bulldogs (10-1-7, 1-1-3) secured three huge points to massively improve their chances of qualifying for the MCAL playoffs this season. The win was the first for San Rafael over Tam during coach Nichole Caiocca’s tenure. Tam (5-7-5, 3-1-1) hit the woodwork three times and saw its nine-game unbeaten streak come to an end.
• Lily O’Shea scored the lone goal of the game as Redwood remained atop the table following a 1-0 win against San Marin (8-5-3, 2-3-1) on Monday. Sidney Middleton provided the assist for the Giants (7-4-4, 4-0-2).
• Riley Wilhelm netted a hat trick, scoring in the 18th, 30th, and 75th minute, as Archie Williams posted a 5-0 win at Novato (1-9-1, 0-5-0) on Monday. Kalaya Mason and Ila Hammon had the other goals for the Peregrine Falcons (5-8-1, 1-4-0). Addison Clark and Ainsley Sullivan had assists for Archie Williams.