Bulldog girls earn 11th seed in playoffs
Ramona High School’s girls soccer team received the 11th seed for the CIF Division II playoffs.
The Feb. 20 playoff seeding and selection meeting sent 16 schools to the Division II playoffs, including Ramona and sixth-seeded Scripps Ranch, who became the Bulldogs’ first-round playoff opponent.
“Very happy,” Ramona coach Tom Charbonneau said of the seed. “I feel very fortunate to get in with our overall record, but it was really our strength of schedule that made the difference for us.”
Ramona closed out the season with a 3-8-7 overall record, although one of those losses was originally a tie but became a forfeit after the discovery that one of Ramona’s players was academically ineligible. Ramona’s 1-6-5 record in Valley League play gave the Bulldogs fifth place among the league’s seven teams.
“The quality of our losses put us in just as much as our wins and ties,” Charbonneau said of the playoff seeding.
The Bulldogs closed out the regular season with two Valley League losses. On Feb. 17 Ramona traveled to Westview for a game which turned out to be a 4-1 Wolverines victory. Westview led 3-0 midway in the second half before Silvia Villegas scored Ramona’s only goal of the game.
Villegas shot from about 35 yards out and placed the ball into the top right corner of the net.
“One of the prettiest shots of the year,” Charbonneau said.
“We kind of went in with a defensive game plan,” Charbonneau said of playing Westview. “We actually got into our offensive end quite a few times.”
Ramona’s final regular-season game took place Feb. 19, when the Bulldogs hosted San Marcos. The pre-game Senior Night festivities honored the team’s six twelfth-graders, but the Knights spoiled the evening by taking a 2-0 victory.
“It was a very disappointing loss,” Charbonneau said. “We actually played quite decently through the first half.”
A San Marcos goal late in the first half began the game’s scoring.
“Second half we had a lot of opportunities, just couldn’t put one away,” Charbonneau said.
Midway in the second half Charbonneau made the shift to more offensive and less defense, and the Knights were able to capitalize on that for a second score.