Santa Rosa soccer team keeps rolling, now 17-1-1

The Santa Rosa Academy girls soccer team is headed for the second round of the CIF playoffs with a 17-1-1 overall record. Photos courtesy of Sara Pallante

Led by the division's top two scorers, the Santa Rosa Academy girls soccer team will take a 17-1-1 record into Tuesday's CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoff game.

The Rangers will be at home for a 3 p.m. game against Katella (17-2-2) in the second round. Santa Rosa won its first-round game 2-1 over Vista Del Lago of Moreno Valley on Thursday in sudden death overtime.

Junior starter Lilli Wise (right) is the team's -- and Division 6's -- leading scorer with an incredible total of 44 goals and 96 points. Another top player is junior Marie Marlow, who leads Division 6 in assists with 26 and is second in points with 94 (including 34 goals).

Thursday's game showed just how much the Rangers play as a team. After playing to a 1-1 tie in regulation, the teams played two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods. Then players on each team took turns with penalty kicks to see which team would score the most out of five kicks. After they were still tied following two rounds of penalty kicks, the game went into a sudden death shootout.

Santa Rosa's first kicker in the rotation was Alyson Enochs -- normally a goalkeeper. She scored on the first shot of sudden death, and when the Vista Del Lago player missed her kick, the Rangers were victorious in the marathon game.

Under coach Mike Vandereb, the Rangers went 9-1 in league play before charging into the playoffs. Goalkeepers Cadence Dougherty and Enochs have combined to allow only nine goals all season.

Marie Marlow (7) leads Division 6 in assists and ranks second in points to teammate Lilli Wise.