ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - As the top seed in a playoff matchup, you want to show you’re the better team early on in the match. The Cosumnes River Hawks did that as the No. 10 seed against the No. 23 seed Butte College Roadrunners on Nov. 21. 

They showed their superiority within 10 minutes with their leading goal scorer during the regular season, freshman forward Sadie Stoll, scoring a hat trick while being assisted on all three goals by sophomore midfielder Mandy Thao in the Hawks’ eventual 6-0 win. 

“Me and Mandy have a great connection. She’s amazing and it’s what we practice a lot in practice, those one-two (passes) so it was great to see it on the field and just all of our hard work put into motion,” Stoll said.  

A series of through-ball passes into open space for Stoll to capitalize on from Thao were the key to the Hawks’ early lead in this opening playoff match.

“Very good, exciting and happy for the girls and obviously comfortable for me (taking an early lead). We kind of knew we were probably going to dominate a bit but we’ve been in these kinds of games where we dominated and don’t get the goals and it’s a grind to the end so it’s good to see us score,” Head Coach Cesar Plasencia said. 

One-two passes and looking for open space with through balls are part of the Hawks’ play system, Plasencia said. 

“It’s our system of play and what we look for. Sometimes we’re clean enough and the angles are right that we can execute and sometimes we’re a little off and today we were on,” Plasencia said. 

A hat trick was something that Stoll had been eyeing this whole season, she said. 

“I’ve been really close with two goals in a game but in our pre-game today our coach was telling us that when you score a goal it doesn’t matter what the score is. 

“You stay composed and that’s what was going through my mind when I slotted that third goal,” Stoll said. 

Not only is it proof of her hard work, but the hard work from the whole team, Stoll said. 

After the early 3-0 lead, Plasencia began to make substitutions to allow other players to get minutes and stay in form to prepare for this playoff run. 

“When you have a big team you have to try and get everybody some minutes just to keep the team chemistry positive, and when they get us leads like this it’s a lot easier for me to get everybody in,” Plasencia said. 

One of the substitutions that gave Plasencia and the Hawks results was when sophomore forward Quinne Ansley got subbed in at the 19th minute and sent a cross in to assist Thao on her header for the Hawks’ 4-0 lead in the 40th minute. 

By the end of the match, Thao had a goal and four assists. Her fourth assist came in the second half with freshman forward Mia Perez’s second goal of her brace after she scored in the 51st and 60th minutes for the 6-0 result. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Mellanie Chernay did not have much work as she did not record a single save in 90 minutes, nor did the defense but Plasencia liked what he saw. 

“One of our objectives was to keep the ball in our attacking half and not let it get too close to our backs, and we did that for the most part and they did have to step in and cut some stuff off they did,” Plasencia said. 

The Hawks’ focus now turns to the No. 7 seed Hartnell Panthers, who enter their matchup with a 14-3-4 overall record, and who the Hawks tied with a scoreless draw earlier in the season. 

“They’re a really good team and good in every position so I’m hoping the weather is going to allow us to play a good soccer game and not just be a grit and grind type situation, but we can’t control that so we’ll be ready for whatever comes our way,” Plasencia said. 

Unfortunately, the Hawks went on to lose 1-0 against Hartnell in Round 2 in the regional playoffs in overtime on Nov. 23. 

The Hawks ended with an overall record of 11-7-4 and a fifth-place finish in the Big 8 Conference with a 5-3-3 record.