The Ajax United U-10 girls soccer team finished off an amazing season with a 2nd place finish in the Nor-Cal State Cup after falling to the second ranked squad in the state—Mountain View Los Altos —  in a 1-0 thriller.

“I would say overall we played good soccer. We have a smart team and depth; it’s not like we had a few good players, no, they are all good,” Ajax head coach Tim Leonard said. “There is some good soccer in this area.”

Before entering the championship game, Ajax took down Mill Valley, 5-1, in the quarterfinals and then defeated the number one seeded San Juan Blue, 3-1, in the semifinals only to lose to the number two squad.

“Really great soccer from everybody, offense and defense, and our goalkeeper Mya Sanchez is surreal; she is a great athlete,” Leonard said.

It wasn’t until the final five minutes that Mountain View scored. An initial shot was saved by Sanchez in the far post as she got hands on it, but couldn’t hang on and one of the opponents players tapped in the rebound.

The Ajax girls nearly scored three more goals in the final three minutes, but Mountain View was able to hold on the defensive side.

 “It’s the first time we been shut out all season long,” Leonard said.

Ajax ended the season with a record of 51 wins, 4 losses and 2 ties, along with the number two seed in state entering the following season.

In 10 tournaments this year, Ajax captured seven tournament titles (Ajax Spring Invitational, Manteca Invitational, Freedom Independence Cup, BOCA ADIDAS Cup, Ajax Fall Invitational, Pleasanton Rage Showcase, Santa Cruz Breakers), two-2nd place finishes (CAL Cup & State Cup) and a quarterfinal finish in the Mustang Stampede Invitational.