Pioneer was deadlocked with Leland in a tie for second place, only a point behind division leader Santa Teresa and only a point ahead of Leigh, close behind in fourth place.

"We played our best game of the season," said Pioneer coach Lisa Smith. "We were extremely aggressive and played smart as well."

"We just kept charging and charging and finally got an opportunity in the 70th minute of play," added Smith. "We had several opportunities throughout the game and finally cashed in on one."

Sophomore midfielder Jailena Caputo chased down a ball and took it down the left side, fighting off one defender before crossing the ball to Alicia Ramirez. Ramirez quickly set the ball and then took it past one defender before booting it past the Leigh goalie into the bottom left corner of the goal, giving the Mustangs a 1-0 lead late in the game.

Pioneer (8-2-2) continued to play outstanding defense and held off Leigh (7-4-1) to claim the 1-0 victory. The Mustangs got the help they were hoping for from rival Leland, which fought to a 1-0 win over Santa Teresa to knock them into third place and make Pioneer and Leland co-champions of the Mt. Hamilton Division.

That's quite an accomplishment for Smith and the Mustangs since it's their first year competing at the tough level of the Mt. Hamilton Division. It's the third league championship for the Mustangs under Smith's leadership. She led Pioneer to the 2000 West Valley Division title and the 2003 Santa Teresa Division crown.

"It's beyond what we hoped for this season," said Smith of the title in the first year of "A" league competition, "but we worked hard to accomplish it and we feel that we earned it."

The Mustangs now turn their attention to the Central Coast Section playoffs. By virtue of their first-place finish, Pioneer was seeded No. 2 in Division II and received a first-round bye. The Mustangs are scheduled to face the winner of the No. 10 Mitty (11-5-5)­No. 7 Soquel (10-6-1) first-round match-up. Second round action is set for Feb 21, 2 p.m., at Valley Christian. The CCS Division II semifinals are Feb. 24 at Milpitas with the championship game Feb. 28 at Valley Christian.

"In the beginning of the year, I always ask my players to set an individual goal and a team goal," said Smith. "This year everyone's team goal was to get to CCS. We've had a good year and we're satisfied with it and just glad to be here. Everything else is just extra."

Chargers oust Saints

In order to keep its hopes for a Mt. Hamilton Division title reach, Leland knew what it needed to do when it lined up against Santa Teresa last week in the regular season finale. The Chargers needed nothing less than a win, and that's exactly what they got.

Leland scored in the first half to lead 1-0 and worked hard it, eventually coming away with a 1-0 win over Santa Teresa to knock the Saints out of first place.

The winning goal came late in the first half when the ball was cleared outside where Evelyn Powery picked it up and passed it in to Jessica Kolte about 10 yards out from the goal. Kolte took the pass in stride and punched the ball past the keeper to the upper far side of the goal.

Although the second half remained scoreless, both teams battled back and forth with each having at least one excellent opportunity to score but were unable to convert.

The Chargers now turn their eyes toward what awaits them in CCS playoff action. Leland (10-7-3) received a No. 3 seed in Division I and a first-round bye. They will face the winner of the No. 11 Monta Vista (16-4-0)­No. 6 Leigh (11-5-2) match on Feb. 21, noon, at Santa Clara High School. The CCS Division I semifinals are Feb. 26 at Milpitas with the championship game Feb. 28 at Valley Christian.

This will be the Chargers' third year in a row going to the CCS playoffs. Last year Leland suffered a semi-final defeat.

"The playoffs are going to be good," said coach John Vasquez. "There are a lot of very strong teams in Division I."

"We had a really tough pre-season and we did really well in league play," added Vasquez. "The girls are playing very well as a team and we are ready."

Bruins win title

Branham (12-2-0) wanted to finish the regular season strong and extend its eight-game winning streak to nine. If the Bruins could do that, it would assure them a BVAL Santa Teresa Division championship and a trip to CCS. That was the goal in mind when they squared off against Oak Grove in the season finale, and they came through 2-0.

The Bruins were all business as they got on the board in the first half. Junior midfielder Ashley Bay made a particularly outstanding play by outrunning the defense up the left side and crossing the ball into the box where senior Ashley Allison received it and blasted the shot into the net giving Branham a 1-0 lead.

Branham kept the momentum going in the second half when junior Lauren Jenness and freshman Jaimie Lindlow teamed up for another Bruins score. Jenness took the ball on a run up the middle of the field across the center and passed the ball to Lindlow. She continued the run into the box and then passed the ball back to Jenness, who booted a shot past the keeper for the score.

"It was a great season and we played very well," Branham coach Ron Smare said. "We had many tight games but ended up winning our last nine in a row."

The Santa Teresa Division championship comes in only the second year that the Bruins have been in the division. They were 2002 BVAL West Valley Division co-champions with Lincoln and moved up to the Santa Teresa Division in 2003—quite an accomplishment considering that this is only the fifth year since Branham was re-opened and the Bruins had only a junior varsity team their first year.

The Bruins (13-4-1) will move on to the CCS Division II playoffs. No. 8 Branham was to face No. 9 Aragon (14-5-2) on Feb 18 in first-round action. If the Bruins make it past Aragon, No. 1 seed Notre Dame Belmont (18-1-3) awaits them in round two Feb. 21, 4 p.m., at Burlingame.

Branham takes a young (four sophomores and six freshmen) and inexperienced squad into the CCS playoffs. "I expect us to get prepared and play well and hope that it works out to positive results," Smare said. "That's all you can hope for."