The lady raiders failed to get back on track this Tuesday Oct. 11 losing to Santa Barbara 3-0, their second consecutive league defeat along with Hancock College last Friday.
Santa Barbara was the dominant team from the start of the contest controlling all aspects of the game, both offensively and defensively. They controlled the majority of the possession and utilized great passing and movement to create a host of chances.
The Lady Raiders were on the back foot and never really got an opportunity to assert themselves in the match. MC’s defense was under constant pressure; SB offense eventually found a breakthrough in the first half.
A Santa Barbara midfielder found space out wide deep in MC territory; she whipped in a cross that found the feet of an SB forward who calmly chipped the ball over the goalie to give Santa Barbara an early lead.
Still pressing SB scored a second shortly after their first. Poor defending by the Raider defense off of a corner kick left a Santa Barbara attacker free to have a shot on goal. A high shot, which lofted in goal just over the keeper’s outstretched arms.
Santa Barbara boasted a 2-0 lead heading into the break.
The Lady Raiders attempted to rally in the second half but were overwhelmed by SB’s fluid play.
Forced into playing a more attacking style in search of a goal, MC’s team became stretched leaving the defense out numbered and vulnerable to Santa Barbara’s attack.
Chances for Moorpark were few and far in between, never really threatening the SB goal.
Santa Barbara closed the door scoring off of a quick counter in which they out numbered the Raider backline 3 to 1. Many sharp passes led to an easy conversion.
Despite the best efforts of the team, and the goalies’ in particular, Moorpark lost the game by a final scored of 3-0.
Assistant coach Mark Tietjen had this to say after the match.
“We were outplayed, part of that was our lack of experience. The girls are banged up, but all credit to Santa Barbara…We need to play better and step it up.”
The lady Raiders now have an overall record of 2-5-5 and a league record of 1-3-1. They’ll be looking to get back to winning ways on the road against West Los Angeles at 4pm.
