Hart soccer falls to Fremont in district finals

FREMONT — It didn't take long in Friday's district finals game for Fremont to let Hart know it was in for a much different game than the teams' close regular-season battle.

The Packers scored twice in the first 12 minutes, both by sophomore star Esther Vissia, and were lethally efficient with their first-half scoring chances, building a lead Hart couldn't overcome in a 7-0 defeat.

Hart knew it would be up against it in the finals with key offensive player Zoily Sarabia less than 100% after an ankle injury suffered in the semifinals just two days prior. The Pirates moved Olivia Bradley from midfield to defense in hopes of countering Fremont's explosive attack, but the Packers responded with dynamic play in the midfield.

The two teams were actually pretty even in scoring chances in the first half - coach Joe Gilbert said his team's stat sheet actually gave the Pirates a slight advantage in shots in that time - but Vissia made two very impressive plays early to get her team on the board. In the sixth minute, she made a great move to shake her defender and launched an outstanding shot to the far corner for a goal,  and six minutes after that, she took an on-target pass from Maddie Mater, beat keeper Baleigh Klotz to the ball and was on target with another shot.

"Esther, dear Lord, that girl has a cannon," Gilbert said. "She grew a lot from last year into this year, and she was placing her shots so well."

Hart responded with a couple of decent chances, both resulting in shots by Natalie Rosema, but the Packers were able to turn them both back. Makenna Scott then was the next beneficiary of a great Fremont pass, this one by Taylor Johnson, to set up a relatively easy goal.

The Packers then buried Hart early in the second half, scoring three times in the first eight minutes. It didn't help that sophomore star Addison Barefoot went down with a dislocated knee, Gilbert said, and had to leave the game.

"The dominoes started falling," Gilbert said.

Vissia and Mater each ended the game with three goals for Fremont. Gilbert said it was apparent the Packers were a team that has improved a lot through the season.

"I think Fremont really figured out throughout the season how they wanted to play and how they wanted to attack," Gilbert said. "They were really dynamic through the midfield and that really tore us apart."

Jaidyn Reyna, who like Klotz is a sophomore, spent much of the second half in goal after making a brief appearance there in the first, making a few athletic plays to keep Fremont from making it a mercy rule game. Taking Klotz out, Gilbert said, was less an indictment of the Pirate starter's skill than a way to allow her to mentally reset after facing some very difficult shots early in the game. She is still improving and working, and should be an even better player as a junior.

"Checking on my player, Baleigh, making sure she's mentally good, and getting her back in the right headspace," Gilbert said. "I pulled her out for Jaiden the second time and she goes. 'This is fine. I am good with this.' And Jaiden did well. She's been a backup keeper. She played keeper in indoor a lot. She played keeper (at younger levels), and she transitioned to a field player, so it worked.

"I know (Baleigh)'s got the mentality to go and actually do it. She wants to improve for her team. She wants to be the best that she can be."

The future indeed looks bright for Hart, with many of its top players poised to return next season. The loss ended the careers of four-year varsity players April Chaffee and Payton Lindgren, whom Gilbert credited with sticking it out early in their careers when they were unable to play. Leila Zamora, a two-time JV captain, and Arianna Vela-Cantu and Destinee Perea will also depart from this year's team.

"That group, they were an awesome group and helped set the standard," Gilbert said. "They helped build the program to now, (where) we're very consistent with JV and we've got numbers coming through."