Temecula Valley Golden Bears Soccer Team Wins State Championship

TEMECULA, CA — The Temecula Valley High School girls soccer team capped off a stellar season over the weekend to claim the title of state champion.

The Golden Bears (24-1-1) defeated the San Marcos Knights (18-6-3) by a score of 4-1 on Saturday evening in the CIF State Division I regional championship match. The state title added to their resume for the year which included victories in the Best in the West Tournament, an undefeated and 5th consecutive Southwestern League victory, CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship just one week ago.

In the championship match for the southern half of California, the Golden Bears scored the first goal of the first half. Just eight minutes into the game, a corner kick from the team's season-leading scorer Natalie Mitchell found its way onto the foot of Camryn Vehlow.

“I haven’t been putting in good corners all year, but everything seemed to be working today,” Mitchell told The Press-Enterprise. “I love this team so much, and I believe we really deserved it.”

The Bears then netted three more goals in the second half, including one "own goal" on a ball that bounced off a San Marcos defender off a cross from TVHS's midfielder Annika Jost that ended up in the Knights' own net.

Vehlow, a junior, finished the game with a remarkable effort, netting two goals and adding an assist.

The San Marcos Knights battled hard in the championship match. A foul in the box yeilded a penalty kick for the Knights with minutes left in the game, bringing the final score to a 4-1 TVHS victory. CIF officials at the game handed the trophy to Temecula coach Jennifer Guinn who handed it in turn to her team for celebrations on the field.

Seniors Natalie Mitchell, Kate Jacobsen, Sarah Assumma, Peyton Bundy, Alexis Salgado, Lyla Devereaux and Nadia Dogan signed out for the season with a midfield mic drop they'll never forget that the team posted to Facebook.

"Thank you TO EVERYONE who is our fan and supports this team," the team said. "Seniors OUT! We will miss you all!"

On Monday, the team was greeted with a large sign on the school's campus that read "Congrats state champs."