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Claremont — It was a historic Saturday night in Claremont.
Claremont High School and Webb School are only two miles apart, but the women’s soccer programs never faced off until Saturday’s game. While the size of the school (Claremont has more than five times as many students as his) was the main reason the crosstown showdown never materialized, Webb has been successful in recent seasons.
Webb showed a lot of skill and talent last season that helped the program win the CIF Southern Section and CIF State regional titles as the Gauls set the pace of play for most of the first half. Immediately after the time, the situation was reversed, but in the first minute of the second half, they broke the scoreless tie and won 4-0.
Isabella Salas scored that goal, added a second goal and assisted another to lead the Wolfpack charge.
Claremont manager Tim Tracy said of the dominance his team showed after halftime, “We started playing our game. We stopped playing so desperately and started matching their tempo. It ultimately paid off for us.”
Webb entered the match with 28 straight wins, the fifth longest winning streak in Southern Section history. And the Gauls, led by outstanding senior striker Abby Cook, beat Claremont his 7-1 in the first half hour. Cook had a handful of strong runs and turns in the first half, but was unable to get enough separation for a clean shot at the net.
Claremont senior centre-back Aria Magalon faced the daunting task of shadowing Cook during the game.
About marking Cook, who has averaged 2.5 goals per game throughout her stellar career, Magalon said, “I wanted to keep her back tight and not give her space to beat our defense. “We had great communication on defense.”
Webb’s best scoring chance was a long throw from Cook, but the Gauls were unable to win the scramble in the box.
Claremont (12-2-1) sent the ball forward on the opening kickoff of the second half. The ball eventually fell to Salas near the top of the box and the junior midfielder ripped the shot into the net, sending the Wolfpack forward.
“I missed a pretty easy shot just before halftime, so I told myself the next one would come in,” Salas said.
Webb manager Malik Mbenge said he surprised his team with a quick goal after a strong first half performance.
“It’s the worst feeling. Whenever we concede at the end of the half or the beginning of the half, it’s the hardest thing for a team to come back,” Mbenge said. That goal changed a few things.”
Claremont continued to press and nearly doubled that lead in the next minute, but Webb’s goalkeeper Siena Gomez made two saves to keep the ball out of the net. In the 47th minute, Salas sent a prefect pass to the forwards, sending Bailey Cunnings past the defense, who quietly fired the ball past Gomez to give the Wolfpack a 2–0 lead.
Salas scored his second goal in the 76th minute and Gabriel Flores scored in the final minute.
“We settled into the game late in the first half and the girls played very well after halftime,” Tracy said.
Mbenge said the match was a lesson for his players. With Webb (7-1) heading into the Division 3 playoffs this year, Mbengue has scheduled some tough non-league opponents to prepare for a challenging postseason.
“We want to take those kinds of steps forward for the program,” said Mbengue. I hope a match like this makes us better.”
Webb began contacting them to make the historic meeting happen, and Tracy happily attended the match.
“I said yes because I wanted to honor them for a season like last year,” Tracy said. It was fun to watch and I hope this is the beginning of a tradition.”
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