Two goals in 90 seconds were all the Clovis Cougars girls soccer team needed to leave their stamp on state championship history.
On the strength of a pair of scores by junior forward Samantha Tristan in the second half, the Cougars collected their first ever state title with a 2-0 victory over Leigh High School in the CIF NorCal regional championship Saturday afternoon.
“In the beginning of the season, I never knew we would be here at this moment,” Tristan said. “It’s just cool to see hard work pay off.”
The Cougars dominated possession of the ball throughout the match, and in the first half the team had opportunities to score but couldn’t put together the finishing touches in the attacking third of the field to get the go-ahead goal.
But Tristan changed all of that in a flash during a 90 second span near the start of the second 40 minutes of action.
In the 47th minute, Tristan found herself with room on the right side of the pitch and proceeded to loft a lovely ball over the Leigh goalie’s head to put the Cougars in the lead 1-0.
She wasn’t done.
Tristan showed off her long range skills seconds later with a 30-plus yard strike that nestled softly into the back of the net, and the Cougars had all they needed to guide home the victory and ultimate prize.
“I knew at halftime it was now or never,” she said about her goals. “Even on the second shot, I saw the goalie out and so I said ‘why not?’”
It was the beginning of an absolute onslaught on Leigh’s goal, and although the Cougars didn’t net another, the halftime adjustments of coach Ian Lynch clearly had an impact on the mentality of a team so close to the finish line.
“We just encouraged them,” Lynch said. “We made our tactical adjustments. All year it’s been on us. Whether we won, whether we lost, we always felt like it was on our shoulders to make the plays that were going to win the game.”
The Cougars continued to play keep away with Leigh until the clock ran out, never allowing any serious threats on their own goal. It all resulted in a historic achievement for Clovis High.