Jags to close out regular season with critical matches this week
It will be win or go home this week for the WHS varsity girls soccer team, as the Lady Jaguars make a final push to extend their season.
At press time Windsor (8-9-2, 3-8-1) was sitting squarely on the bubble for a coveted North Coast Section playoff berth, and will need to win out in the final two North Bay League matches this week to remain eligible.
The Lady Jags will finish up league play with scheduled home and away matches against Cardinal Newman (Oct. 25) and Friday, Oct. 28 at Rancho Cotate (6 p.m.). The NCS playoff seeding committee will meet this Sunday, Oct. 30 to fill out the tournament brackets.
“We’ll need to find our rhythm and some magic this week if we want our season to continue,” Jags head coach Mark Archambault confirmed. “Tuesday (against Newman) is a must win game for us if we are to have a chance to make the postseason. Friday’s game will be our last if we don’t beat Newman and Rancho.
Jags drop a pair
Windsor had a tough assignment in an Oct. 18 home clash with unbeaten league champion Montgomery, yielding a pair of early goals to trail 2-0 at the break. The Jaguars played outstanding defense to hold the Vikings to two more goals the rest of the way as the visitors went on to a 4-0 win.
Windsor paid Casa Grande a visit on Friday, falling behind 1-0 on another early goal. Trailing 2-0 late in the second half, the Jags’ Amber Balogh scored off a pass from Katie Bianchi as the Gauchos hung on for a 2-1 victory.
The 2016 campaign may go down as a season of what ifs for the Jaguars, who have played well in most games but have lacked the ability to close many of them out. Windsor has lost four matches this year by one goal while two others have ended in a tie.
“It’s been a frustrating season for coaches and players because we know we have not been playing up to our potential,” Archambault noted. “Our play has been very inconsistent, but I think part of it is we’re a young team and our inexperience is showing.”
