PHS season a success

The Petaluma High school girls soccer season was:

A) Outstanding

B) Championship

C) Dominating

D) Historic

E) All of the above

The answer is, of course, E. How else other than outstanding, championship, dominating and historic could you describe a 16-1-3 campaign that included the first-ever Vine Valley Athletic League championship and a run to the semifinals of the North Coast Section Division 3 playoffs.

In the Trojans’ collective minds, they are still undefeated. Their run of success finally ended in the NCS third round when they were eliminated by Campolindo after playing to a 2-2 tie that was decided on penalty kicks.

Petaluma coach Deegan Babala says many things went into making up the Petaluma championship season. One was the experience gained from the season before. “The continuity helped,” he stresses.

With that continuity came a determination built on skill and desire to succeed. “They had a lot of positive energy,” is the way Babala describes his players’ collective attitude.

Although Babala and the Trojans knew little about the teams in the new Vine Valley Athletic League, the coach was confident in the skills of his players.

After league wins over Justin-Siena, Vintage and American Canyon, Petaluma squared off against a young, but very talented Casa Grande team and battled to a 1-1 tie.

As the VVAL season continued, it became apparent that the league championship would be determined by the second meeting between the rivals on the Casa synthetic turf.

“We felt we had more seasoned players, but we wanted to get off to a strong start,” Babala recalls.

Lauren Hazel took care of that request, scoring two first-half goals as the Trojans rolled to a 3-0 victory and ultimately the league championship and the No. 2 seed in the North Coast Section championships.

The shutout was one of 11 recorded by the Trojans, who played incredible defense all season.

Petaluma’s defense was anchored by freshman goal keeper Silvana Sessi.

But she had lots of help. Babala calls team co-captain Tessa Lambert the best defender in the league. The Trojans also received outstanding defensive play from Sarah Mughannam, co-captain Zoe Frothinger, Amanda Rocha and freshman Katrina Rodrigues.

Strong midfield play came from Alondra Hernandez Ramirez, Hazel, Frances Goughnor, Charlotte Crysdale and Hailey Barry.

Up front, Petaluma had strong scorers in Melissa Rocha, Athena Edwards and team co-captain Hannah Hermann.

The players’ experience and skills made coaching fairy easy for Babala.

“In the second half of the season, my job was to make sure the players knew how good they were,” he said. “It was to make sure the girls were at the best every night.”

The Trojans were just that.

“Their attitude was great all season,” the coach added. “Every time they hit a roadblock, they powered through it.”