Girls soccer: Family at the heart of Marin Academy’s success

As much as Sarah Rafanelli and Wyeth Goodenough have vowed to remain neutral in their daughters’ athletic endeavors, their influences are undeniable.

Marin Academy sophomore forward Reese Goodenough has emerged as one of the top scorers in Marin County, with 22 goals so far this season, following in her mom’s lethal footsteps. Rafanelli, in her fourth season as the Wildcats’ girls soccer coach, ranks third all-time in scoring at Stanford and has a World Cup bronze medal to her credit.

Senior midfielder Sadie Goodenough is a key member of the Wildcats’ soccer team with eight goals. She’s headed to Northwestern University on a partial lacrosse scholarship, where her dad played tennis.

“Neither of us had an agenda around which sport or what activity they would do,” said Rafanelli. “Both of us felt really strongly we wanted our kids to participate in sports and be healthy and active. We felt like we benefited so much from participating in sports growing up.”

Marin Academy is seeking its third trip to the CIF Northern California finals in four seasons. The second-seeded Wildcats (14-2-2) open the North Coast Section Division II tournament at home on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. against No. 15 Justin-Siena

The fact that Rafanelli agreed to coach her daughters at MA seemingly went against her intentions. She says she only accepted the position because her girls had already committed to lacrosse, meaning less pressure and fewer expectations.

“With soccer, I was always really gun-shy about pushing that because I thought it would be easy to misinterpret that as me being overly invested in soccer,” said Rafanelli.

Even if most of the Wildcats have foregone club soccer for club lacrosse — the Goodenoughs play for elite STEPS California based in San Francisco — the MA soccer team is well-positioned for success.

“Some people thought it was going to be a rebuilding year,” said Sadie Goodenough. “It hasn’t been at all. We’ve just been dominating. I’m very excited for the rest of the season. We want to win NCS and win State. We need more.”

The Rafanelli/Goodenough era

Since becoming MA’s coach, Rafanelli has compiled a 64-17-7 record with back-to-back Bay Counties West league titles.

In her first season, when Sadie Goodenough was a freshman, the Wildcats finished second in the NCS D-3 tournament to Branson and then upset the Bulls for the NorCal D-2 title. (MA and top-seeded Branson could meet in the NCS finals again next week if seeds hold up.)

MA lost in the NCS D-3 semifinals in 2024. Last season, the Wildcats made the NCS D-2 and NorCal D-2 finals, coming up just short.

“We were all super bummed about last year,” said Reese Goodenough. “We’re taking that energy and anger and fueling our season this year.”

Rafanelli loves the maturity she has seen in Reese Goodenough. In just two seasons, the forward has racked up 37 goals and 14 assists. Reese Goodenough credits her mom’s genetics and dedication.

“She gave me her speed, which is super helpful,” said Reese Goodenough. “Honestly, that’s my strategy to chase balls. She is harder on us, but I love it. My favorite thing is feedback and I appreciate it.”

Sadie Goodenough, who anchors the Wildcats’ midfield, has 20 goals and 10 assists since Reese came on board.

“We don’t communicate out there, but I can read her mind,” Sadie Goodenough said of Reese. “I’ll look at her and I’ll know she wants the ball. I like finding her. ”

Talking shop at home

Sports are always the topic of conversation at the Goodenough/Rafanelli home in Ross. Besides Sadie, 18, and Reese, 15, there’s 12-year-old Ellis, a fixture at MA soccer games and already a three-sport star herself.

“We like to talk shop at home A LOT,” said Rafanelli. “We talk about all sports and watch a ton of sports. We like to review games and plays and moments. Of course, we film everything — all of us are on our laptops and phones looking at footage.”

Just as she treaded lightly around coaching her daughters, Rafanelli lets them take the lead on post-game reviews.

“Sometimes I’ll think they’ll want a break — that they won’t want to talk about it,” Rafanelli said. “But as soon as they bring it up, that’s my license to go. I love it that the girls love it so much.”

From Stanford to World Cup

Rafanelli was a three-sport athlete at College Preparatory School in Oakland. Her science teacher/coach was instrumental in pushing her toward soccer over tennis and volleyball, leading to an illustrious career at Stanford from 1990-93.

Rafanelli supplanted Julie Foudy (1989-92) as the Cardinal’s top scorer and still ranks No. 3 with 152 points.

“It was my job to score goals,” said Rafanelli. “Julie was probably assisting on most of them. She did so much for that program, and I was following on her heels. She really paved the way.”

Rafanelli led Stanford to four NCAA tournaments, including a trip to the Final Four in her senior season. She was named an All-American twice.

After college, Rafanelli joined Foudy, Mia Hamm, Michelle Akers and others on the U.S. National team that competed in the 1995 FIFA World Cup. Winning the bronze sounds like a cause to celebrate, but the U.S women were heartbroken after a 1-0 semifinal loss to Norway.

“That was a really important life moment,” recalled Rafanelli. “We were an amazing team and projected to win. Getting back to an emotional place where you can compete (for the bronze) after feeling you lost something — and we did it. We came back and played an amazing game.”

Women’s sports advocates

Many of Rafanelli’s former teammates are noted proponents of soccer and women’s sports, inspiring the MA coach in several ways.

Foudy is the former president of the Women’s Sports Foundation, a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and ESPN color commentator. Hamm is co-owner of Los Angeles FC and Angel City FC.

“I have loved to see so many of my former teammates be such huge advocates for women in sports,” said Rafanelli. “So many of them have pushed women’s sports so much further than even what they were doing when they were playing. It makes me thrilled that they’re creating opportunities for my daughters and their daughters and all these young girls coming up.

“I recognize how much sports brought me and how many opportunities it created for me, and how much confidence I gained,” said Rafanelli. “So there was an element of how can I give back to this game that gave so much to me.”

Wyeth Goodenough is also a steward and serves on the Marin Academy board of trustees. The family is very involved in activism surrounding type 1 diabetes.

Unexpected blessings

Since Rafanelli had never coached her daughters, she had no idea how fulfilling her own experiences would be.

“It is such a gift to have time with my daughters,” said Rafanelli. “Just being a part of their high school lives has been a real gift.”

The Goodenough sisters feel the same way.

“Getting to play for her is a dream come true,” said Reese Goodenough. “I love everything she has accomplished with MA soccer. She cultivates an incredible team.”

“My mom is obviously an amazing soccer player and had an amazing athletic career,” said Sadie Goodenough. “Having her as a coach is such an inspiration and I really look up to her as an athlete and a person.”