GVS Advance to Quarterfinals

February 16, 2026

Saturday, 14-Feb-26

Cate GVS 3 – 0 Desert Christian Academy (Bermuda Dunes)

Saves: Mimi Power (10)

Assists: Violet Guilbert-Neal, Fiona Pan, Nika Iverson

Goals: Harper Bishop (7th min), Violet Guilbert-Neal (11th), Precious Adjei (35th)

After a team breakfast, a commute of 2 minutes to our home turf, and a routine warm up, we were ready for round two (despite a few lingering illnesses and injuries).  But when the whistle blew, Desert Christian Academy came out strong and tall – especially their keeper – and played a direct style.  In the first 5 minutes, it was hard to predict which way the game was going to go.  But Cate was the mentally stronger team.  Now granted she was playing on my sideline, so this was likely the case for several players, but after the first five minutes of watching the kickball, something changed in Violet’s eyes; she was not to be stopped.  There was a new urgency and determination on the field, and when Violet next got the ball from a mess in the midfield, she took it all the way down the right side and found Harper in front of the net. Harper ran through the ball, maintaining momentum, and volleyed it into the net.  Goal.  Absolute Game changer.  The mood became: watch what we do next.  And next was Fiona Pan (who had an awful lot of space to cover in the middle) finding Violet up the spine.  Violet shot low and hard.  2-0.  And then Precious Adjei, who had something to prove on her own, collected the ball from Nika and took on several DCA defenders before finding the back of the net.  With that, we were done scoring and retreated a bit to protect our bodies and the clock, at least until the last ten minutes when, all of a sudden, we strung together several beautiful possession plays around the semi-defeated DCA team.  In the back, Mimi Power had some truly excellent saves, several of which were at the edge of the box.  My favorite was one where she made a save with her feet, then dove on the ball to collect it with her hands.  Excellent.  Lauren Hubbs and Sierra Montoya led the defense with 10 tackles a piece, neutralizing DCA’s most talented player (yet again).  And Fiona Pan led in terms of completed passes, followed closely by Precious, Harper, Violet, Lauren, Nika, Tania, Sierra, and Amelia Riepe (listed in alphabetical order by last name because they all had about 10).   This game celebrated the diversity of our talents, the different ways in which this team can score, and the dynamic capabilities of all players to play all positions, especially when coming off the bench.   It was also a game that required a lot of tenacity and composure, for all kinds of reasons, and I’m most proud of the way in which we responded to physical and mental challenges.

Next, we are on the road to face Santa Rosa Academy in Menifee (east of Lake Elsinore).  We travel on Wednesday and will be sad to miss Community Engagement Day, but grateful not to miss classes.  We’ll let you know the game time once it’s arranged, but google earth suggests they do have lights; hopefully we’ll get an afternoon slot regardless.  Santa Rosa Academy beat DCA 2-0 in December and tied them 0-0 in January, so we’ll probably face a similar style, perhaps with a bit more technical talent.  It should be a competitive quarterfinal!