Historic season for Granite Hills girls soccer

The Granite Hills girl soccer team made history by winning its first CIF Central Section championship in the school’s 25-year history.

Led by head coach Jesus Martinez, the Grizzlies had an impressive run in the Division VI playoffs.

Here is a quick look at each playoff game:

The girls opened the playoffs with a game against Cesar Chavez on Feb. 15. Camila Aguilar and Angie Torres both scored a goal to secure the win 2-0.
A few days later on Feb. 19, the girls played Chowchilla in the quarterfinals. Chowchilla was a very tough team. It was a very close game. Rocio Tecuapa was able to score a goal to secure the win 1-0.
The semifinal was Feb. 21 against Wonderful College Prep Academy.  The girls came in very confident and ready to play their game, which allowed Angelique Gonzalez and Angie Torres to each score a goal to secure the win 2-0.
Finally, on Feb. 27, they hosted Riverdale in the championship game.  Angelique Gonzalez was able to seal the deal with a shot about 40 yards out to give the Grizzlies their first Valley championship.

“To win the CIF championship means everything in the world,” Martinez said. “It was definitely a dream come true, not just for me, but for my players sacrificing a lot of time away from family and friends to practice to become better players, and a better program as a whole.”

It was a complete team effort for the Grizzlies. Martinez talked about how each level on the field contributed to the championship season.

The forwards were led by Amberly Jaramillo and Camila Aguilar.

“Amberly Jaramillo and Camila Aguilar made a great duo on top,” Martinez said. “Amberly is very physical and fast. She was able to use her physicality as an advantage. And Camila being a freshman and being able to score 11 goals is great. Her long-range shot, her physicality, her effort all the time, her willingness to do what was needed were some of her biggest strengths.”

Taking care of business in the middle were several players.

“For 90 percent of the season, my middle stayed the same. They were Rocio Tecuapa, Anahi Ramos, Angelique Gonzalez, and Angie Torres,” Martinez said. “Great handling that Anahi and Angelique provided for the team, Rocio running down the line and Angelique giving us some good crosses. Those four girls were just phenomenal all year round. Sadly three of those girls are my seniors. So that’s gonna be a big loss in the midfield.”

The defense didn’t give up a single goal in the Central Section playoffs. They were led by Josaleen Garay, Jocelyn Estrada, Jennifer Robles, Marianela Aguilar and Mia Martinez.

“I don’t think I switched my defense out of the 32 games we played. It was the same four to five girls the whole season,” Martinez said.

And finally, the goalkeeper handled business as the last line of defense.

“My goalkeeper, she’s a senior, and Alina Soto just sees the game and understands the game differently. She’s just always on point,”  Martinez said. “Sometimes, she didn’t even believe in herself the way we believed in her. She was just great back there. Our goalkeeper is going to be a big loss this year, but Alina is definitely a phenomenal player, a phenomenal athlete, just a great overall kid.”

The Grizzlies lost to Ripon Christian in their first-round state playoff game. They finished the season with a 15-11-5 overall record.