NCS girls soccer playoffs: Sonoma Academy beats St. Vincent 2-1 for Division 3 championship

Sonoma Academy scored first, then turned in a brilliant second-half defensive performance to defeat St. Vincent 2-1 and claim its third consecutive North Coast Section Division 3 girls soccer championship.

Sonoma Academy defeated North Central League II rival St. Vincent in the 2014 championship match. The Coyotes got the best of the Mustangs in an NCL showdown on Sept. 16, winning 3-2.

The Coyotes entered the game ranked sixth in the North Coast Section Maxpreps.com ratings and No. 1 in the NCS Division 3 poll.

Sonoma Academy, which got both goals from senior Chloe Colbert, finished with a 19-1 record and a 14-match winning streak. The Coyotes won the NCL II with a 13-0 record. Rancho Cotate handed them their lone loss, 5-4, on Aug. 28.

Just five minutes into the match, St. Vincent sophomore midfielder Neila Gross went down with a serious arm injury. The game was delayed 40 minutes before she was taken to a hospital.

“We couldn’t tell the nature of the injury,” Richardson said. “But it was unsettling to see one of our top talents injured.”

Sonoma Academy head coach Chris Ziemer said, “I credit both teams for being able to start the game, stop immediately and return to action after Gross was hurt.”

Colbert scored to give the Coyotes the lead. Grace Hosbin countered to tie things before Colbert made it 2-1. “I’m not sure either team feels they played their best soccer,” Ziemer said.

“Our girls just find a way to win,” he added. “When it was 2-1 at half, we realized that nothing had been decided.”

Ziemer had high hopes this season.

“We had a nice group of returnees,” he said. “Colbert finished with 155 career goals, so having a good team that played as a team as well as that special player who can score was special.”