The Monte Vista Lady Monarchs traded their runner-up finish in this year’s Grossmont Valley League standings for a first-round playoff win on Tuesday, May 7, as they held off a late Bonita Vista rally to claim a 9-7 victory in the opening round of the San Diego Section Division III playoff elimination bracket.
The 11th-seeded Lady Monarchs (8-6) advanced to meet third-seeded San Ysidro (14-8) in last Friday’s quarterfinals while sixth-seeded Bonita Vista ended its Metro-South Bay League co-championship season with a final 12-10 record.
“It’s our first time to the second round,” Monte Vista coach Scott Cross said. “It feels awesome. The girls put in a lot of hard work. I couldn’t feel more happy for them.”
Evelyn Cross led the Lady Monarchs on the field with five goals while Brooke Yeatts tacked on three goals. Goalkeeper Alyna Bustos was credited with eight saves.
The game was close in the first half. Monte Vista scored first before the game was tied 2-2. The visitors maintained a one- or two-goal lead for much of the first half before going up 6-3 at one point.
The hosts managed to narrow the score in the second half but could not net the equalizer.
“We noticed they were playing a zone defense, so we slowed down our attack in the second half,” the Monte Vista coach said. “We were looking for the best option to score.”
The elder Scott said the team proved to be over-achievers during the spring season.
“We didn’t have many returners, so I was hoping for a decent season,” the Lady Monarch coach said. “But halfway through the season, the team began to exceed expectations.”
Monte Vista finished behind West Hills in the Grossmont Valley League standings. The Lady Wolf Pack received the No. 5 seed in this year’s Division III playoff field.
Bonita Vista tied Mar Vista for the Metro-South Bay League championship with identical 7-1 league records.
Lady Baron coach Ahmad Rice did not discount the team’s playoff finish.
“We had a great season going from 2-15 to 12-10,” Rice said. “The girls got to experience a new level in CIF. It was a great push.” CIF or bust
Other East County qualifiers included Granite Hills (12th seed in Division I), El Capitan (ninth seed in Division II) and Valhalla (12th seed in Division II) on the girls side and Granite Hills (ninth seed in Division I), Grossmont (11th seed in Division I), Santana (third seed in Division II), West Hills (top seed in Division III), Foothills Christian (third seed in Division III), Valhalla (fourth seed in Division III) and Monte Vista (12th seed in Division III) on the boys side.
Finals in both gender fields are Friday and Saturday.
