The Moorpark College women’s soccer team suffered a tough 6-2 loss against league rival Ventura College on Sept. 30.
A physical battle comparable to a heavy weight bout, the Lady Raiders came out with purpose. Establishing their attacking mindset from kickoff they created numerous chances in the early stages of the match.
The best of which came in the fifth minute; a series of quick passes off of a throw in led to a low cross which found the feet of striker Karina Tamayo just outside the six yard box. The ball fumbled around Tamayo’s feet for a few seconds before she hit a shot, which seemed promising, but in the end was handled with ease by the VC goalkeeper.
Caught completely off guard, the Lady Pirates had no answer for the Raiders quick tempo passing, movement, and spells of high pressure. Under constant duress, the Ventura defense was finally breached. A mis-timed header deep within VC territory led to Moorpark’s first goal.
The loose ball was pounced upon by sophomore forward Marylin Alvarez. Alvarez dribbled into the box and poked in a shot low past the keeper into the opposite corner. Cheers rang out from the Moorpark bench and crowd as the Lady Raiders finally took a well deserved lead.
Ventura was determined to strike back, strike back they did quickly and often. First on a miscue between the MC goalie and her defenders leaving the VC forward in front of net to equalize.
The second was a one on one with freshman goalkeeper Bailey Morley getting beat by a fine finish across her net away into the far corner.
The third and final of the half was a defensive failure to clear the ball inside of MC penalty box. Yet again a Lady Pirate was there to finish the play and placed the ball neatly into the back of the Raiders net.
Ventura scored three goals in the better part of 15 minutes educing a complete momentum switch in the match where they headed into the second half.
At half time, coach Eric Pivat spoke encouraging words to his team reminding them of how they dominated the early stages of the match and that at the moment they might be down but definitely not out. Shouting, “Believe it!” “Win it!” urging his players to “Take the game back!”
Rejuvenated by their coaches powerful speech the Lady Raiders took the field intending to do just that; to take the game back. Attacking and pressuring the Lady Pirates the same way they did in the opening 20 minutes of the match, they pulled a goal back within the first five minutes of the restart. This bringing the score to 3-2, while also swinging momentum back in their favor.
It was “chippy” to say the least, but that was expected from a heated rivalry game. The late tackles and yellow cards flared in the second half. With MC receiving three cards and VC going into the referee’s book four times. This including a red card that was handed out to a Pirate forward for a late challenge against substitute freshman goalkeeper Cynthia Zaragoza.
Controversy arose when the referee rescinded the red card for a yellow one allowing the VC striker back onto the pitch.
Frustration and lack of composure led to the downfall of the Lady Raiders in the final 15 minutes of the game as the Pirates shut the door with three more quick goals. Sloppy defense lead to more one on one opportunities with the MC goalkeeper. The first was disposed of initially, and the later two were poked in off rebounds.
Ventura’s midfield asserted themselves by dominating possession. Moorpark barely had the ball in the final minutes of the game, only able to generate a few lackluster efforts on goal.
A classic tale of chances taken and those not; the final whistle blew with the scoreboard reading Ventura 6 Moorpark 2. Assistant coach Mark Tietjen had this to say about the team’s second half performance.
“Our response was good, we got a goal back early in the half. Then you know cards start flying and players get emotional. Many of our players have never been in that situation before. We’ve just got to learn from this and move forward,” said Tietjen.
The defeat brings the Lady Raiders overall record to 2-3-4 (1-1-0 in league). It doesn’t get any easier as they welcome Oxnard College this Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m.
