Caitlin Sparks of San Marcos wins a head ball against Paraclete 
Jasmine Moreno steals the ball from Paraclete’s Paisley Todd, 
Paraclete’s Alyssa Gill tries to stop San Marcos’ Kate Sheldon from getting to the ball. 
San Marcos forward Sofia Orozco is stopped by Paraclete goalkeeper Abree Fry. 
San Marcos coach Brian “Ziggy” Ziegenhagen celebrates with his team after accepting the CIF Championship plaque. 
The San Marcos student section celebrates after the girls soccer team won the CIF-SS Division 5 championship at Warkentin Stadium.
After winning just three games in the last two seasons, the San Marcos girls soccer team completed one of the most remarkable turnarounds of any high school sports team in the area.
The Royals won a CIF-Southern Section championship.
Caroline Mikkelsen finished a corner kick from Becca Rodriguez in the 63rd minute, and the San Marcos defense made it stand up for a 1-0 victory over Paraclete in the Division 5 final before crowd of nearly 1,000 at Warkentin Stadium.
The title was the first for San Marcos since 2006, and it capped a perfect 15-0-0 season. Paraclete finished at 13-2-1.
“It feels pretty crazy,” Mikkelson said of winning the championship after suffering through seasons of 2-15-4 and 1-10-5, according to MaxPreps. “We’ve had losing seasons the past two years. Just the fact we came out and won all of it, it feels so crazy. … Oh my gosh!”
Senior forward Sofia Orozco said the players stepped up in their intensity under first-year coach Brian “Ziggy” Ziegenhagen.
“We wanted to win this year because this was our last season of being here. Even COVID didn’t stop us,” she said.
The shutout was the 11th of the season for the Royals.
Mikkelson noted that the majority of the team members have been playing soccer together “since we were really little.”
“We’re super close and have an awesome coach who knows how to motivate us,” she said.
“It’s fun to coach talented girls and girls that have the love and the desire to play at the next level,” Ziegenhagen said.
Like they have in most games this season, the Royals controlled the majority of the possession and created the most scoring chances. Rodriguez and Orozco tested Paraclete goalkeeper Abree Fry early, and Orozco nearly scored in the final seconds of the first half.
She received a pass from Rodriguez on the right side of the penalty area and shot for the far post. A diving Abree barely got her fingers on the ball and tipped it wide.
Paraclete’s Yasmine Knotts and Brianna Delgado made some dangerous runs on the left wing, but San Marcos defender Julianna Alaniz stayed with them and defused the threats.
“Alaniz was fantastic, the whole back line was — Paige Ingram, Ice (Aisli Suzuki), Jasmine Moreno … everybody was terrific. It’s a team effort today. I’m so proud of them.”
Alaniz said: “I was so nervous, but I kept my ground and I had my backup defenders covering me. I think we did a pretty good job. We’ve been so good back there.”
Mikkelson also praised the defense: “Our center backs are so solid, and they know how to get the job done. Honestly, we owe that game to those girls.”
Rodriguez and Orozco set up Jaslyn Van Lenten for a big shot on goal from 18 yards in the 56th minute, but Fry was in the right spot and made the save.
Three minutes later, Rodriguez beat three defenders on a 20-yard run and delivered a beautiful through pass to Orozco on left side of the box. Orozco beat her defender one-on-one before ripping a shot that Fry had to block with both hands.
On the ensuing corner kick from Ingram, Orozco got open but headed the ball wide.
Rodriguez earned another corner kick for the Royals, and she delivered the ball across the goalmouth to Mikkelson, who buried her shot for the eventual game-winner.
“It was a super awkward goal,” Mikkelson admitted with a laugh. “It just bounced off my side and it landed right in front of me, and I passed it in.
“It was so surreal. I said, ‘Did that just happen?’ It felt so crazy.”
The goal set off a huge roar from the big San Marcos crowd, which included several students.
In this COVID-19-impacted sports season, CIF-SS staged its championship games at home sites rather than having several division finalists play at one or two designated venues.
San Marcos continued to control the possession and play good defense for the final 17 minutes.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to who can get to the ball first and whoever is the hungriest. And our girls are hungry,” Ziegenhagen said. “We have great players who can deliver the ball and we have great players running through the box, like Caroline. She was hungry for that ball.”
And the Royals were hungry to finish an unforgettable season with a CIF championship.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.