PONTIAC >> The Pontiac Phoenix claimed the Oakland Activities Association Gold Division championship with a 1-0 win over the Harper Woods Pioneers on Wednesday evening.

“It feels really great. I never got a chance to have this in my life, so I feel like it’s a good opportunity that my team won,” Phoenix senior Jaylina Garcia said.

Pontiac got the game’s only goal just over 10 minutes into the second half when Gabriela Coreano chipped a ball to Isabel Alcantara at the top right of the penalty box. Alcantara headed the ball forward, juggled it once, and hit a volley into the far side to give Pontiac the lead.

The Phoenix would dominate the stat sheet all game long, piling up 13 shots on goal and an astounding 23 corner kicks, including multiple series of three to four corners in quick succession. But Alcantara’s strike was the only goal they could muster against Pioneers goalie Laniyah West, who turned in a strong performance with 12 saves, including stopping a penalty kick with 13 minutes remaining. West also had help from a defense anchored by Zaria Hall and Jazmin Parker that won most of the balls in front of goal and got in the way of many of the ones they didn’t win.

“Our defense is always strong. Our goalie is amazing. We’re struggling to find someone who is a natural goal scorer up top,” Pioneers head coach Rob Cummings said.

Ultimately, Pontiac just had too many chances as it constantly recycled possession, especially in the second half.

Harper Woods did produce a couple of good chances in the first half with its best opportunity coming late as a loose ball banged around in front of goal with about seven minutes to play before halftime. However, the Phoenix defense eventually managed to scramble the ball away.

“We switched to a different formation today, and it seemed to work out well. The girls seem to be getting used to it, so hopefully we can generate a little bit more offense,” Cummings said.

The win means the Phoenix finish with an unbeaten league record of 5-0-1 and clinch the first division title in program history.

“It means the world to me. But these girls, they work so hard on and off the field. They’ve been through it all, breaking barriers. So it means a lot that they’ve actually accomplished something,” Phoenix head coach Wisam Brikho said. “It feels like after all this hard work that you see that light at the end of the tunnel.”

“It feels good. It feels like the work that we have done is getting to something,” Pontiac goalie Geraldine Guzman said. “We started something, and we finished it.”

Overall, Pontiac is 9-0-4 on the season. The Phoenix are back in action Thursday with a home match against Hamtramck.

Harper Woods finishes 0-6 in the league. Next up for the Pioneers is a home match against Roseville on Thursday as they wind down the season.