Finishing league play with an impressive 9-1 record, the Diamond Bar High School girls soccer team’s season still fell short as they lost in their second round of playoffs against La Serna, 2-1.

“Our team was successful in league by playing together and being able to rotate players in different positions, and just being very versatile in terms of positions they can play and how they can play them,” head coach Matt Franco said.

In league, Franco said that the team focused on not allowing easy goals for opponents, as having possession of the ball for long periods of time causes the defensive line to become less attentive.

According to MaxPreps, the ladies ranked first in their league for both offense and defense.

“I feel we lost against Ontario because we have been winning all season, so we have been getting comfortable,” senior Jordyn Beaulieu said. “We expected to win when we should have worked harder to get the win.”

In their first game against Ontario, the ladies won by a close margin, 2-1.

For CIF, the team focused on playing small possession games and working on finishing when the opportunity appears.

“The game is very simple and the players that we have have skill to keep it simple,” Franco said. “That’s all we’ve been telling them: keep it simple and have fun.”

The team had their first playoff match against Pacifica, winning 2-0. Both goals were scored by junior Marissa Vasquez, with an assist made by junior Madison Bernardino and sophomore Emily Le.

Along with Vasquez, Franco attributed the team’s success to goalie Megan Nadal, who made five saves in the game.

“Those two players came up big, one of them making the saves and the other one scoring the goals for us,” Franco said.

In the game against La Serna, the team led 1-0 the first half, before allowing two goals to be scored in the second half. The only goal was scored by freshmen Alexis Fueler.

“I feel in the second half they [La Serna] outplayed us,” Beaulieu said. “Not that they wanted it more, but they just worked harder.”

Vasquez was the team’s lead scorer, with a season total of 15 goals, followed by Le with a total of nine goals.

According to Franco, due to the specificities of each game, every player has stepped up to contribute to the teams’ tiding win in league.

“Everyone has been kind of holding their role,” Franco said. “Some players get more playing time than others, but when they get in they usually make an impact on where and what we do.”

Despite the Lady Brahmas getting cut off early on in playoffs, Franco said he wants the team to take their success positively.

“I hope the girls feel successful no matter what,” Franco said. “This is the first year Diamond Bar has been in the playoffs for about five years now. Win or lose, I just want them to feel like they have been able to pull together as a team, everybody working for each other.”