Eagles win their season finale
On Thursday, the Mendocino College Eagles women’s soccer team played its final match of the 2019 season, hosting the Merritt College Thunderbirds.
As had been the case in many of the Eagles’ matches this season, the Eagles again fell behind early in this match when the Thunderbirds scored the first goal just 2 minutes into the match.
In many of those previous Eagles’ matches the opponents seized the momentum with an early score and went on to score multiple goals and secure comfortable margins of victory.
Having scored more than 2 goals in a match just once this season, the Eagles needed to limit damage to the 1 goal and give themselves an opportunity to come back in the remaining 88 minutes of play.
That’s exactly what did. They did not allow Merritt to score another goal for the remainder of the match.
Keeping themselves in the game with their stellar defensive play, the Eagles tied the match with a goal in the 41st minute and then scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 87th minute to come away with a hard-fought 2-1 win in their final match of the season.
This match with Merritt had originally been scheduled on Oct. 24, but had been postponed due to the fires raging to the south and related power outages in the region.
The two teams had played once before this season, with that match being played at Merritt in Oakland on Oct. 4. Merritt won that match 5-2.
In that match Merritt also got an early 1-0 lead, but the Eagles rallied to tie with a goal in the 41st minute. The match was tied 1-1 at half
In the second half, Merritt, led by 3 goals by Anashea Custard who had scored Merritt’s goal in the first half, went on to defeat the Eagles 5-2. The Eagles second goal came on a free kick by Gina Faalelea in the 70th minute.
Coming into Thursday’s rematch at Mendocino, Merritt owned a 6-6-1 Bay Valley Conference record and 6-7-1 overall record, good for fourth place in the conference standings.
The Eagles were 4-9 and 5-12 overall and sixth in the conference standings, with a chance to tie Napa Valley for fifth place in the final standings if the Eagles could beat Merritt and Napa Valley lost on Friday to second-place Solano.
The Eagles looked to have a better showing against Merritt the second time around, playing the Thunderbirds on the Eagles’ home pitch.
But just 2 minutes into the match, Merritt’s, speedy forward Custard executed a fast break, running by the Eagles defenders up the left side of the pitch and closing into the goal area where she sent a well-struck shot toward the goal, the ball deflecting off an Eagles’ defender and into the net, giving Merritt a quick 1-0.
The teams battled back and forth across the halfway line for 7 minutes when a Merritt player managed to penetrated into the left side of the penalty area.
But Eagles keeper McGowan game out and smothered the ball, with the Merritt player being shaken up on the play, requiring play to be stopped for a couple minutes until she could recovered.
Around the 13-minute mark, the Eagles were awarded a right-corner kick with the strong-legged Kiley Butler taking the kick. Well directed, the ball landed right in front of the goal, but the Merritt keeper reached up and grabbed it before an Eagle could take a shot.
Around the 15-minute mark Merritt got a fairly close shot off from left of the Eagles’ goal, but McGowan covered the ball a couple yards out from the goal.
A couple minutes later Custard tried to make another run, but was better defended, getting off a longer shot that was saved in front of the goal by McGowan.
The Eagles began to exert more pressure into Merritt’s half. At the 20-minute mark the Eagles were awarded a penalty kick outside and a few yards back from the goal area. Butler took the kick but it sailed well over the goal.
Play became more balanced, with the teams ranging up and down the pitch, each getting the occasional opportunity to take a shot.
McGowan added a couple more saves on shots and the Eagles had some opportunities of their own. They worked for some good looks but had trouble with the elevation of their shots. A couple were on target horizontally but sailed well over the goal.
A couple times they were able to penetrate close to the goal, but Merritt’s keeper made a couple good plays to foil attempts to get off a shot.
In the 37th minute the Eagles were awarded a one-on-one-penalty kick on the penalty mark. Butler took the kick, but it too sailed over the cross bar.
The Eagles kept “knocking at the door” and finally it opened.
In the 41st minute, on a throw in, Brisa Villa penetrated into the goal area on the right side and got off a cross to teammate Kenzie Turner in the penalty area in front of the goal.
Turner received the cross and quickly directed it into the empty goal, the keeper having come out to help defend against Villa. The ball settled into the back of the net, with the Eagles tying the score at 1-1.
The Thunderbirds tried to regain the lead in the time remaining in the half, twice getting off shots, but both were defended by the McGowan. When time expired in the half, the score was still knotted at 1-1.
When the second half started, the Thunderbirds tried to get back lead they had held for most of the first half.
In the first few minutes of play Merritt was able to get a right corner kick, but McGowan was able to grab the ball out of the air in front of the goal.
The Eagles countered by pushing the ball into Merritt’s half, once getting off another shot that went high over the goal and one that was on target off the foot of Duncan but saved by the keeper.
The Eagles kept the ball in Merritt’s half for several minutes of play. But then Merritt almost executed another fast break with Custard racing up the left sidelines and closing on the goal, getting off a shot in the 62nd minute.
However, McGowan smothered the shot near the left post.
Shortly thereafter, the Thunderbirds were awarded a left-corner kick but it sailed behind the goal.
For several minutes of play the Eagles pushed the action into Merritt’s half, working the ball into the goal area, but were not able to get off shots. In that time, the Eagles had a couple right corner kicks and some throw ins that didn’t result in shots.
In that same stretch, the Thunderbirds had to switch out their keeper because of an injury. But the Eagles weren’t able to pressure the goal enough for a close-in shot.
They did get off a strong long shot in the 75th minute but it sailed to the right of the goal.
Shortly thereafter, Custard got loose again, breaking up the left side of the field, heading for the Eagles’ goal.
This time, a couple defenders managed to cut her off just outside the goal area and force a shot that sailed past the goal.
Having escaped a close call, the Eagles seemed to turn their intensity up a notch, realizing that the match was still theirs for the taking.
They pushed ball into Merritt’s half and kept it there. They got another right corner kick in the 78th minute off the foot of Butler, but the shot off the kick sailed over the Merritt goal.
In her 80th minute, Custard got loose again getting possession of the ball around mid-pitch and starting a dash toward the Eagles’ goal.
She ran by a couple defenders but they took better angles of pursuit, positioning themselves between Custard and the Eagles’ goal.
Before Custer could get off a shot, Butler came across and kicked the ball out of bounds. The Eagles then managed to regain possession.
The Eagles pushed the ball back into Merritt’s half, with the teams (figuratively) battling tooth and nail. The match was up for grabs with the minutes ticking up on the clock.
On one occasion, Merritt managed to send a long kick into the Eagles’ half with Custard in the neighborhood. But being well-guarded this time, she could only get off a kick along the right sideline, easily scooped up by McGowan coming out from the goal.
The Eagles pushed the ball into Merritt’s half, with Thunderbird’s appearing to take a defensive strategy of playing for the draw with just a few minutes left in the match.
The Eagles, on the other hand, seemed to pick up their intensity a notch higher, sensing a potential win, and fighting vigorously to maintain possession and advance the ball and create an opportunity to put the ball in the net.
In the 87th minute that intensity paid off. Awarded a right corner kick, Butler sent the kick right into the area in front of the goal where it was taken in by Turner and sent to the back of net for her second goal of the match, giving Mendocino a 2-1 lead.
To their credit, now trailing for the first time in the match, the Thunderbirds battled back, forcing the ball into Mendocino’s half with 88 minutes showing on the scoreboard clock, meaning the match was now in stoppage time.
They managed to get a right corner kick. It was good one, landing right in front of the Eagles’ goal in a group of players.
But there to defend were McGowan, and defenders Olivia Pantaleon, Danny Gonzalez and Valdespino.
They battled for the ball with three Thunderbirds, with Valdespino finally gaining control and sending the ball out of the goal area and toward the left sidelines. A subsequent Merritt left corner kick was snagged by McGowan, turning possession back to the Eagles.
In the time remaining the Eagles were able to keep play confined to the center third of the pitch, with Merritt not able to generate another scoring attempt.
When the double whistle blew ending the match, the Eagles had a wellearned win to finish their season.
Eagles head coach Eric Hoefler, commenting after the match, offered his comments on the match. “We got some shots in net; got one back that we lost. That’s probably the best way to end the season.
“They (Merritt) beat Napa yesterday 3-2 and we beat them 2-1, so we knew they (Merritt) were going to be on par with us. And they were. If their goalie hadn’t gotten that bad wrist, maybe we don’t get that last goal.
“They had some really talented players. No 11 was talented. No 2 was speedy as all get out. We realized how we had to play her. Your best bet is to take an angle and slow her down.
“It was a good, good game. A good way to end a season. What a game! They (the Eagles players) deserved this game because the season has been so difficult for them. They’ve stuck together as a team. They’ve fought together as a team. It’s good to see those qualities bear fruit and see them get that win.
“Now, hopefully, they can take this into the offseason and realize it’s hard work. The hard work you put in, makes it easy on the way out.”
Noting the vocal fans in the stands rooting the team on in the match, Hoefler commented, “We’re finally getting the crowd behind us. They’re starting see that the women’s program is something to come watch. It wasn’t boring today. We made it exciting.”
Hoefler had special praise for one of his players Brisa Villa. “I thought Brisa was super awesome. At the end of the game, she went over to tell (Merritt’s) No. 4 that she played really well. The one time they collided, she asked her ‘Are you, okay?’ She wanted to thank her for being so compassionate on the field like that.
“No 4 was struggling at the end of the match. She was very upset, because she wanted the win. But she was so exhausted. But Brisa went over to her and told her ‘Thank you for checking up on me. You played a really great game.’ You could see how it lifted up the young woman’s spirit.
“If I’ve taught these players anything, it’s to be good sports. You don’t put yourself before the game. When the game’s over, you thank them (the opponents) for the battle. Because if they’re not here, you don’t have a game.”
With the season finale win, the Eagles finished conference play with a 5-9 record and 5-12 overall record.
On Friday, Napa Valley lost to Solano College 7-0, leaving Napa with a 5-9 conference record, allowing the Eagles to tie them for fifth place in the final Bay Valley Conference standings.