Women's Soccer

Minutemen come close -- again By Ricardo Sanchez Jr. STAFF WRITER Last season's magical ride all the way to the North Coast Section 2A championship came totally out of the blue. The Concord High School girls soccer team shocked everyone along the way, maybe even themselves, as it beat up on higher seeds to end up in the championship match. This time around as an even lower seed, much of the same happened with the ninth-seeded Minutemen reaching the final against No. 6 Campolindo. "Last year we got to the finals we were completely exhausted mentally and physically," said Concord coach Damian Scott on Feb. 24, the night before the championship match against the Cougars. "Now, we're actually going to the finals, not worn out, feeling like we have a chance to actually win it." Scott has taken his team to the NCS championship match his first two seasons with the school. However there was one problem with this matchup: Concord had lost both previous meetings with Campolindo this season by a combined score of 11-4. And in the Diablo Foothill Athletic League standings, the Minutemen finished in sixth place, 10 points behind the fifth-place Cougars. History repeated itself on Saturday night. The Cougars were quicker to the ball, created numerous opportunities and disrupted the few chances the Minutemen had to take away a 4-0 win and the 2A championship. Just being there for Concord was an accomplishment in itself. Losing 10 seniors to graduation and injuries to key players, made this season's run that much more fulfilling and improbable. "It's much tougher, because we're much younger and we had to figure out our roles," Scott said. Desiree Mortensen is the perfect example of how the team adapted. Scott said that Mortensen had a key role in Concord advancing to the final. Mortensen played the center midfielder position for a long stretch during the season because injuries forced her from her natural goalkeeper position. Once she returned, the defense, led by sweeper Jamie Beisner, stepped it up. That became clear when Concord survived a tightly contested semifinal match against Miramonte. Alyssa Pereira converted the only score for the Minutemen in regulation. After a Miramonte score, the match went two overtime sessions before reaching a shootout. Jessica Franz, Felicia Fernandez, Nicki Kollehner, Megan Ring, and Mortensen all converted for Concord. Mortensen also finished with 13 saves, including three in the shootout to help the Minutemen advance. The Minutemen started the playoffs with a 2-1 win over Berean Christian. From there Concord ran into a familiar foe: top-seeded Bishop O'Dowd. "It was good, I think early on in the game this year we were able to creae a lot of chances," Scott said. "Last year, they were just hands down the better team. We have a lot more speed and play more physical this time." Concord got its revenge taking out the host Dragons in a 1-0 quarterfinal win on Feb. 22. "I'm just proud of them. There's just a lot of character. At this point of the season every one on the team is beat up and tired but you try and find that little motivation to keep it going." "That's all the difference."

Top-seeded O'Dowd falls to Concord By Dan Stark, STAFF WRITER Oakland Tribune OAKLAND — When a ninth-seeded girls soccer team knocks off the defending North Coast Section 2-A champion, there are bound to be many heroes. In Concord High's 1-0 quarterfinal win over No.1 Bishop O'Dowd on Saturday, none were bigger than goalkeeper Desiree Mortensen, who made sure that Alicia Rodriguez's goal in the 21st minute stood up by making 12 saves in a virtuoso performance. "She was unbelievable," O'Dowd coach J.T. Hanley said. "She had great angles and came up big today." Though the game was played almost exclusively in the Concord (11-12-3) end, the Dragons were unable to penetrate the Minutemen's defense spearheaded by Jamie Beisner and backed by Mortensen. The Dragons (19-3-3) dominated the early going, getting off five shots before Concord had one. But after an O'Dowd yellow card, the Minutemen's Heather Kurpieski launched a long free-kick to a streaking Rodriguez, who placed a 15-yard shot just over the outstretched hand of Allison McGuirk. O'Dowd continued to get chances throughout the game, but the Dragons were unable to convert. "I thought we had good looks in the first half," Hanley said. "In the second half, we took a lot of shots but we didn't get a lot of good looks." O'Dowd's best chance to tie came in the waning moments of the game, when Jessica Humphrey had three consecutive corner kicks — two from the left side followed by one from the right. But each time they were stymied by the Minutemen, who finally gained control of the ball as the clock expired. Concord, which battled through an injury-plagued season and entered the playoffs three games under .500, has now won consecutive games over higher-seeded teams and advances to face No.5 Miramonte on Wednesday. "They were strong up the middle," Hanley said. "And in the playoffs if you get that and a goalkeeper playing like she did, you're going to win."

Contra Costa Times Athlete of the Week • NAME: Heather Kurpieski • SCHOOL: Concord • SPORT: Soccer • YEAR: Junior • POSITION: Forward/midfield • THE SKINNY: Kurpieski scored both goals in the Minutemen's 2-0 win over Berean Christian in an NCS 2A first-round playoff match. She had the assist as No. 9 seed Concord upset No. 1 Bishop O'Dowd 1-0 in the quarterfinals. • FAVORITE SUBJECT: U.S. history • FAVORITE ATHLETE: Michelle Akers • FAVORITE FOOD: Spaghetti • FAVORITE SINGER: Kelly Clarkson • FAVORITE MOVIE: "Finding Nemo"