Mission Bay field hockey was crowned CIF Div. II champions on Nov. 16 after defeating San Dieguito Academy 2-0 in the final.

The goals came from Claire Weiss and Alison Jones in a match where San Dieguito came out strong creating the better opportunities and putting Mission Bay on its heels in the first quarter.

“Our defense played perfectly,” said head coach Kris Auer. “They were calm and their positioning was perfect. We didn’t give away silly fouls and even though we were under pressure they didn’t get any real quality chances.”

By the end of the first quarter, the Bucs gathered themselves y created the best scoring chance on a one-on-one breakaway opportunity, which came against the run of play. From that point forward it was Mission Bay that grew in confidence off better passing, more possession, and timely substitutions with the first goal coming on a short-corner in the third quarter.

“It was an improvisational play,” said Auer. “We kind of broke down not having the right personnel, but Claire (Weiss) put herself in a great position to get a deflection that she slammed home for the first goal, which wound up being decisive.”

Mission Bay entered postseason play as the top-seed, earned a first-round bye, and then a quarterfinal win against eight-seeded Olympian on Nov. 8. The Bucs then beat fourth-seeded Mission Hills 3-0 on Nov. 12 in the semifinal match.

The Bucs got great goalkeeping throughout the playoffs starting with goalie Rebekah Godoy who filled in nicely for the injured Elizabeth Gangolea, who eventually took over again in the semifinal and final matches with neither giving up a goal throughout the postseason.

“All of our opponents were tough to break down, but in the end, we have some quality athletes,” said Auer. “We faced similar teams with very similar styles.”

Among the other standout players during Mission Bay’s título run was Linnea Liljenstrand-Mjoen who was an integral part of the success during the regular season.