VWS Soccer to Play in CIF Championship Match

Vivian Webb School’s varsity soccer team posted an undefeated regular season in 2021-22, taking the San Joaquin League crown and earning a No. 2 seed in the CIF Southern Section Division 6 Championships, now underway.

The Gauls dominated opponents throughout the season, going 8-0 in league play and 17-0 overall, including a 6-3 win over Fontana’s AB Miller High School to earn a spot in the championship game.

Webb will host Arrowhead Christian Academy for the Division title at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26. Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for students and children. Purchase before the game via the GoFan app.

“It’s been really beautiful to watch,” head coach Malick Mbengue said. “We have a really strong squad this year. They just gelled as a team. Everyone knows it’s not about individual players; it’s about everybody playing together as a team.”

Mbengue, who has coached the team for five years, said the team focuses on possession soccer, working the ball from player to player, using multiple passes to make the other team chase the ball. This keeps Webb in control of the game’s pace and opens opportunities for scoring.

The success is especially sweet after the 2020-21 season, in which COVID-19 concerns forced Webb to forfeit two league games, limited playing time for the athletes and prevented the team from qualifying for the championship playoffs.

“They wanted to play a full season,” Mbengue said

Helping the team was a strong roster of returning players and a host of excellent freshmen.

Prior to the playoffs, Abbey Cook ’23 led the team with 30 goals and 17 assists, and Taren Duffy ’22 had 18 goals. Noe Chock ’23 had saved 29 of 35 shots on target; Sienna Gomez ’24 had saved 15 of 19.

“This year’s team is a lot closer than I remember from my past years,” Cook said. “We genuinely enjoy being around one another, whether on the field or not. We hang out outside of practice and with everyone it is always a good time and it seems like we are always laughing and smiling!”

The last time Webb made the division championships, the team was competing in Division 7. But a few years ago, the team shifted to a higher division and the tougher San Joaquin League, which includes St. Margaret’s, a Division 4 team. In girls soccer, CIF divisions are determined by a team’s performance over three years.

Roster

• Abbey Cook (captain)
• Taren Duffy (captain)
• Caroline Metz (captain)
• Reece Ollivierre (captain)
• Eva Annabi
• Noe Chock
• Olivia Cooke
• Taylor Crawford
• Ava Darby
• Lauren Duffy
• Ella Garcia
• Sienna Gomez
• Valeria Gonzalez
• Emma Holiday
• Jasmine Beseth
• Dorothy Ma
• Kaitlyn Metz
• Reagan Ollivierre
• Julia Tyck
• Paige West
• Elizabeth Whitaker