Defying All Odds: Cardinal Newman's Inspiring Journey to Glory

NorCal Champions to be honored at Quakes Night of Champions, presented by Valley Health Plan, on March 31

By San Jose Earthquakes

March 28^th, 2018

"No one knows what tomorrow brings.”

When the ball rippled the side netting, John Gilson could finally exhale.

The head coach of the Cardinal Newman High School girl’s soccer team turned from the water cooler, dropped his clipboard on the sideline and rushed to the center of the field with his 18 players where jubilation ensued. Junior Keely Roy’s bending finish had just sealed a dramatic 2-1 overtime victory in the D3 NorCal Championship in Sacramento.

“We had to have been celebrating on the field for 45 minutes,” Gilson recalled over the phone. “And there were still tears."

A few months earlier, the most destructive wildfire in California's history devastated the campus of Cardinal Newman and the homes of six players on the team just weeks before the start of their season.

On Saturday, the Cardinals will be honored at the Quakes Night of Champions, presented by Valley Health Plan, at Avaya Stadium, highlighting an unbelievable story of triumph and unshaken determination through one of the most challenging circumstances in this region.

Defying All Odds: Cardinal Newman's Inspiring Journey to Glory

“Whatever goes on in your life, in the classroom or in the personal life, we wanted the soccer field to be their sanctuary.”

The Cardinals' pursuit of a Northern California Championship started at a severe disadvantage. With their school and soccer field burnt from the fires, the players faced their first battle from the aftermath: coming together as a team.

“For the first half of our season, we weren’t even on the same campus," Gilson explained. "The school had been divided into four different locations of freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors, so the players were separated all day long until practice.

"At that point, the coaches and parents would help pick up the freshman and sophomores from these different locations, while the juniors and seniors drove themselves to practice.”

The challenges, however, continued to mount. With no field to practice on, the team would train in parking lots, indoor basketball courts and local sporting complexes. Of their 25 matches, the Cardinals never played a home game. Whether it was trucking back and forth between Sacramento and San Francisco, the girls were always on the road, vying for results in the toughest of circumstances.

"...At that moment, I could finally breathe.”

Throughout all the obstacles, Gilson, assistant coach Henry Belmont and the players could have easily looked ahead to next season.

The team’s philosophy? There’s no tomorrow.

“I know everyone typically talks about there’s always next year or the year after that, but we kept drumming into these girls that it’s not about the future, it’s about now. I think the fire has brought that out a little. No one knows what tomorrow brings.”

The Cardinals grueling season earned them a place in the NCS tournament, ultimately bowing out after a 1-0 loss to Branson on March 21.

Their season, however, wasn’t over.

The girls clinched a spot in the 2018 CIF Northern California Regional Championship where they would face Center High School on March 6 in Antelope. A 3-1 victory over Center and a heart-stopping 1-0 semifinal victory against Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory at Kezar Stadium sent them through to the final.

It was only fitting that in the longest season of their lives, the championship game against Bradshaw Christian on March 10 went into a 15-minute, golden-goal overtime.

“I started to write down who my five kids would be in the penalty shootout,” Gilson said. "When Keely scored the goal, it was like 'Did that really go in?’"

“It happened so fast. The girls were all stunned for a second. When they realized it went in, they all ran onto the field. At that moment, I could finally breathe."

“When Keely scored the goal, it was like 'Did that really go in?'"

In that moment of euphoria, the realization began to settle in: The girls were the 2018 Northern California Regional Champions.

"Whatever goes on in your life, in the classroom or in the personal life, we wanted the soccer field to be their sanctuary,” Gilson explained. “We want it to be a place where you forget all about that and play because you love the game.

"We personally didn’t talk much about the fires. Let’s forget about losing your home. We know once you get back in your car, that’s a reality. And for the kids who lost their homes, they showed up every day and by the way the held themselves, you wouldn’t be able to tell what they were going through off the field. To me, that’s special in itself.”

Saturday’s Quakes Night of Champions ceremony will be just another reminder of how far this group of players has come from October’s unthinkable tragedy. The girls, who are now in club season, have rescheduled their games on Saturday just so they can attend the match.

It’s safe to say they’re pretty excited for the festivities at Avaya Stadium.

“For the girls to regroup and to be as excited about this as they were with reaching the NorCal Championships speaks for itself,” Gilson said. “It’s a huge thing and I think they’ll realize it even more when they step onto the field."

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