STOCKTON —  Penalty-kick shootouts require “no skill” and hinges on “luck,” if you ask Rio Americano coach Chris Hall.
Justin Coenenberg would argue otherwise.
On Saturday, Coenenberg’s top-seeded Manteca High girls soccer team outlasted Hall’s No. 2 Raiders 2-1 (6-5 on PKs) for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III title — the first in program history after going oh-fer in four previous final-round appearances including the past two years. Rio Americano (13-5-3), meanwhile, has been a powerhouse in this division having won five section championships since 2007.
Coenenberg has experienced enough heartache to make sure his teams are prepared for any situation. In his first year of coaching Manteca’s boys squad in 2007, the Buffaloes qualified for the postseason and lost their first-round match in a penalty shootout.
“We were not prepared to go to PKs at all and we lost in PKs, so that was kind of on me,” said Coenenberg. “Every year since we’ve been prepared to go to PKs if we have to. For the last month, every day we practiced PKs. These girls know their spots, we know the order and we practice it every day. It finally paid off.”
And the Buffaloes finally captured that elusive section banner because of it.
“(The) last two years it hurt,” Coenenberg said. “These girls are just relentless. They came back every single year, worked harder to improve and came together as a team and every thing just paid off here. It’s a great story.”
Both teams were perfect through the first five rounds of penalty shots. Sophomore Carly Morrish then blew hers by Rio Americano keeper Katelin Talbert, leaving it in the hands of Manteca senior Ashlee Miller, who had never been a full-time goalie up until this season.
Camile Lidster, Rio’s impressive freshman midfielder, teed up her shot and, according to Miller, gave away her intentions when she approached the ball before the official’s whistle. Lidster then aimed her attempt low and to the left, and Miller dove to her right to slap it away with both hands.
“When she stuttered she sort of turned her body that way and she was looking to the opposite side, so I had a clue of where to go,” Miller said. “Luckily, she placed it slowly, so I was able to get to it.
“It’s the most nervous thing you can think of,” Miller added. “Usually I dread going into (penalty shootouts) but then after you make a save it’s the best feeling in the world. I couldn’t have done it without not practicing every day with my teammates shooting at me and helping me make better decisions.”
Senior captains Jasmine Basuil and Leah Manuleleua made the first two PKs for Manteca (25-2-1). Midfielders Jocelyn Reyes, Madison Burch and Lejla Pepic followed.
“We all had confidence,” Manuleleua said. “As far as Ashlee, we’ve been practicing (taking shots) on her, so she’s had a lot of experience and I have 100 percent confidence in her.”
Miranda Sanchez, Katelyn Chandler, Caitlin Vicari, Megan Hansen and Marisa Sanchez converted their attempts for the Raiders, who feel they let one slip away after a dominant first half.
“It’s devastating,” Hall said. “I felt that we were the better team. I felt that team played very well, but it’s just devastating. There’s no skill, just luck in penalties. It’s luck, but at the same time we didn’t get it done in regulation or overtime.”
Manuleleua and Chandler registered the goals in regulation.
Chandler and the Raiders from Sacramento delivered the first blow and were the aggressors for much of the first 40 minutes. She was at the right place and the right time on Vicari corner-kick cross in the 27th minute, as the ball squirted through a wall of players and was deflected into the open net on Chandler’s first touch.
It was the first goal allowed by Manteca for nearly a month, and it end a string of five consecutive shutouts for Miller and the defense.
Manteca had two good looks in the opening five minutes of the match, but the first half clearly belonged to Rio Americano, which held a commanding 9-3 shot advantage.
“They played long-ball, direct soccer,” Hall said of Manteca. “We played possession style — on the ground, to feet. We outshot them on the stats, guaranteed, we out-possessed them for the game, guaranteed.
“I felt like we played a better type of soccer but today it wasn’t as effective. It went to penalty kicks and that’s just the luck of the draw.”
After 100 minutes of action, both teams had 13 total attempts. While Hall may not admit it, Manteca was able to match his team’s play in the second half and both overtime periods. All six of Miller’s saves, in fact, came in the first half.
Pepic had a great chance to tie it in the 56th minute when her header try went over the crossbar following Alexa Mayen’s indirect kick from near the midfield stripe. She and the Buffaloes had another chance minutes later.
Junior forward Sarah Vegas checked into the match for the first time as Manteca lined up for a set piece. It was her hustle that helped the Buffaloes tie it. As Rio Americano players scrambled to clear it, she was able to deflect it toward the right corner,where the speedy Pepic tracked it down. Pepic lofted a cross to the near post, and Manuleleua flipped it into the opposite panel with a backwards header.
Manuleleua ended her stellar senior season with 45 goals, and she amassed a school record 116 in her four-year varsity career.
“Even when we were down we never gave up, we just kept fighting,” Manuleleua said. “I’m really proud of all of us. We all worked so hard as a team, and I couldn’t have done it without them.”
The final 15 minutes of regulation was a blur, as the two sides took turns missing would-be go-ahead goals. Manuleleua didn’t get a solid enough touch to challenge Talbert (six saves) on a close-range half-volley set up by Mayen’s perfect delivery off a free kick. Later, Rio Americano’s Hayley Semkiw banged a strong one-timer off the after a cross from Hansen.
In the last minute, Manuleleua’s cross from the right corner hit Ivy Benson on the dot, but Benson’s point-blank header sailed over the goal. Regulation ended with Rio Americano deflecting in a corner kick, but it was after a Raider was called for a foul.
Manteca outshot Rio Americano 4-1 in overtime and had two opportunities go to waste in the 82nd minute. Manuleleua floated a lobbed through ball into the penalty box on a give-and-go with Pepic, whose shot was deflected away by Talbert. Benson took a poke at it on the rebound but launched it over the crossbar.
Talbert again came up big for Rio Americano in the second overtime period, when Reyes almost pushed the Buffaloes ahead in style. Following yet another long free kick by Mayen, Reyes drilled a backwards shot from the 18-yard line, but the rangy Talbert was able to knock it away with a leaping deflection on the upper-right 90.
“I would have preferred to have won it in regulation,” Coenenberg said. “We came out in the first half and I thought we were playing a little panicky. Second half, definitely settled things down a little bit more. We were able to possess the ball and create more scoring opportunities. Going into overtime you could tell both teams were gassed, but I was pretty confident with us going into PKs.”
At this point, Coenenberg and Co. will take it however they can get it, and they needed to go through a team that hadn’t lost since March 9 when Rio Americano wrapped up a brutal 0-4-1 stretch to start the season against many of the Sacramento area’s best.
“A blowout wouldn’t have been exciting, right?” Coenenberg said.