Following Friday’s scoreless tie against Chico High, Pleasant Valley High School girls soccer coach Brenna Valencia thought her team would be in good shape against visiting Shasta in the semi-finals of the Division 1 Northern Section Girls soccer playoffs because the Vikings don’t lose at home, and they don’t give up goals at home.
Both were on display in the Vikings’ 3-0 win over visiting Shasta, moving them to 17-1-4 at home since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, and the only loss was in the NorCal regionals to Maria Carrillo in penalty kicks following a scoreless tie.
The Viking defense, in front of goalkeeper Kennedy Arntzen, with centerbacks Alexandra Barteau and Clara Gampel, along with outside backs Keely Kremer and Eliana Macias, held Chico and Shasta to just two quality shots in the last two games.
“I mean as a goalkeeper, I always loved the games that I didn’t have to make a save; I just had to talk to people,” said Valencia, who was a goalkeeper at Pleasant Valley, Butte College and Chico State. “So I mean that proves that Kennedy and our backline are strong and capable of getting a shutout if they play smart.”
The numbers showed they’ve been playing a lot of smart soccer. In fact, the Vikings have held their opponents scoreless in their last 16 home matches with Arntzen in the goal and have not allowed more than one goal at Asgard Yard since a 5-0 loss to Whitney on Dec. 7, 2021 — which is also PV’s last regular season home loss.
As good as the defense has played, on Wednesday PV had its offense in full gear, scoring three goals in the game. The first came on a through ball from Viking striker Lily Thurman to winger Scarlett Christie, who beat her defender to the ball and scored near the post past the Shasta keeper in the 32nd minute.
“First half we got, I think we started off a little lackadaisical, and we kind of needed more urgency, and luckily we found two goals, so that was nice,” Valencia said. “I think there was a good warm-up for Saturday and making sure that we get our mind right and that we’re settling in.”
It was Christie’s team-high 15th goal of the year, just ahead of Thurman, who picked up her fifth assist of the year. In her three-year varsity career, the Vikings are 24-0 when Christie scores.
Four minutes later, Barteau pushed the lead to 2-0 when she converted a corner kick from fellow senior Mylee Yuill. It was Barteau’s second goal of the year and Yuill’s team-high 10th assist.
That finished the scoring until the 65th minute when Isis Estabrook pressured the Wolves into a loose ball in the box that sophomore Madeleine Barteau cleaned up with a left-footed shot to the far post and a 3-0 lead.
It was the younger Barteau’s fifth goal of the season.
The Vikings will now prepare for the Northern Section championship against Chico High School at noon Saturday at Panthers Stadium. The last time the two teams matched up at Chico High, the Panthers prevailed 3-2 on a penalty kick.
To get their first win of the year against the Panthers this year, PV will have to continue playing smart soccer, Valencia said, adding that it’s important that the Vikings remain mentally tough.
She also said that the Vikings have to play the ball to feet and be more physical as they’ve been working on those things.
The Vikings haven’t beaten the Panthers at their place since the Northern Section championship on Feb. 22, 2020, in penalty kicks.
This will be the third straight year and the fifth time since the 2016-17 season that the two schools have met in the section final. The Vikings are 3-1 against Chico in that span, winning in 16-17, 19-20, and 22-23 seasons, while the Panthers claimed the title over PV in the 2021-22 season.
However, in that same time span, the Panthers claimed two NorCal regional crowns, one with a 5-1 victory over PV at Asgard Yard in 2020.