Ayala Girls Soccer put together a very impressive past season, going all the way to the Division II California Interscholastic Federation Championship (CIF) while also going to the second round of the Division III CIF State Championships. Overall, they went 14-9-4 and went 6-2-2 in the league, and finished second in the Palomares League.
But to get to this point, it was not as smooth as the team would have liked it to be. From games spanning from December 17 to December 30, the Bulldogs would go 1-6 during those games. Two of those games marked the beginning of the league, as they lost to the Glendora Tartans and the Bonita Bearcats during this tough part of their schedule.
“We didn’t begin how we wanted, but we came together, refocused, and held each other accountable,” Malee Dinh (11) said.
From this point on, the Bulldogs would not lose another league game as they would go on to win four straight. Overall, the team would end up finishing 6-2-2 in the league, which would earn them second overall. Showing the resilience the team showed even after going through a rough stretch to begin the season.
“Those losses made us realize we needed to step it up and change our mindset, after that we flipped the switch,” Mia Maldonado (12) said.
The season’s attention was now focused on the CIF playoffs and the road ahead to fight for a CIF championship. The team was placed in Division II of the CIF playoffs, where in the first round, they would face the Buena Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs would dominate, earning a big statement win, with the final score 3-0, and goals from Audrey Layaye (11), Haylee Dean (12), and Amaryn Silva (11).
Going into the second round, the Bulldogs would find themselves against the Beckman Patriots. The dominance would only continue for the fearless Bulldogs. The team would earn a 4-0 victory with three goals coming from Dean and another from Silva.
Now in the third round, the Bulldogs would face off against the Saugas Centurions. Thanks to a goal from Mikayla Benavidez (12) and another clean sheet, the Bulldogs would once more earn a victory with a score of 1-0.
As the team headed to the CIF semi-finals, they would face a tough opponent in the San Marino Titans, who held a 19-1-1 record overall. But similar to how the other games had gone for the Bulldogs, they would do the same once more to defeat the San Marino Titans 3-0. The goals came from Juju Jones (9), Benavidez, and Layaye. With this win, the Bulldogs would go on to advance to the CIF Division II championship against the Millikan Rams. As the team headed to the championship, it was a time to reflect on how far the team had come.
“That game meant a lot to us, and celebrating after was unforgettable. The best part was seeing all our hard work pay off,” Maldonado said.
The Bulldogs would put up a fight but sadly lost 1-0 in this game. Although it was a tough loss, they would now get prepared for the CIF Division III state championships.
Here, the girls would get a home matchup against the Crescenta Valley Falcons in the first round. They would take a commanding 7-2 victory over the Falcons with goals coming from Benavidez, Ella Salas (11), Dean, Jaelynn Hillenbrand (12), Delilah Reynaga (11), and two goals from both Silva and Layaye.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs would drop the regional semifinals in a rematch against the Millikan Rams in penalty kicks.
Overall, the girls’ season was nothing short of phenomenal, and they will return even stronger next season as they look to compete once more for a CIF championship.
To achieve the same goals and more next season, we will need to continue and deepen our relentless, determined, underdog mentality that drove us to make history this year,” Layaye said.
It is safe to say that the team is ready to compete next season, as the job is not finished.
