August 29, 2007
Bulldogs Fall to Rival in Double Overtime
The Lady Bulldogs soccer rivalry with that other Catholic School – the one from down south – is always memorable. For Coach Jim Ngo’s Lady Bulldogs, Tuesday night’s run-in with The Soaring Eagle, easily rivaled earlier matches for excitement and drama. But the Bulldogs didn’t get the result they were looking for...falling to Juan Diego in double overtime, 3 to 2.
Things started off with early fireworks. Less than 20 seconds into the game, sweeper Sadie Young lofted a ball to the center of the field where junior forward Maddie Cartwright one-touched a beautiful pass to her offensive mate Kiersten Berg, who exploded at full speed through a shocked Juan Diego defense. The sophomore striker slid a confident shot past the keeper. It was the second straight game that Judge scored in the first minute. But the home fans would have to wait 89 minutes for the Bulldogs to get their second goal.
Juan Diego steadied their ship and hunkered down for the long run. Late in the half a penetrating run by a Soaring Eagle midfielder drew out Judge keeper Natalie Warner who made a perfect sliding stop on a hard shot, but unluckily the rebound came far away from the Judge defenders and a second shot made it’s way to the back of the net. The half ended tied at one.
Early in the second half the Bulldogs had several chances to break the game open as they showed more offensive diversity than they've displayed all season. Somehow what looked like a certain Cartwright goal on a smart one touch shot from the top of the eighteen curled agonizingly to the right and bounced off the far post. Minutes later junior Carly Bartel chipped a left footed shot from 22 yards out over the keeper but this one smacked the crossbar. Two lost opportunities would come back to haunt the team. Juan Diego took the lead in the second half when a scramble in front of the goal left Warner clutching a ball which had broken the goal line. The freshman lay injured for several minutes from a collision in the scramble, and had to come out for major minutes in the second half. Kasi Stults filled in flawlessly in goal.
As the final seconds ticked away in regulation, the Bulldogs pressing attack finally paid off when fullback Ellen Sliwinski – who had been causing the Juan Diego girls trouble for much of the half – made a big throw-in, which Juan Diego misplayed. Berg was there to quickly dribble through the defense - first outside one defender and then inside the next - and at full speed she drew the keeper away from her line and calmly placed a low shot into the far corner. It was Berg's fourth impressive goal in two games.
New rules have most high school games going to two ten minute overtimes to see if a winner is determined. The Bulldogs were looking strong and continuing to pressure their rival in both periods, but wound up dropping their guard on a long throw-in that popped off keeper Warner’s hands and into the goal - giving Juan Diego the win. But in the end the Lady Bulldogs should feel confident that they were just inches away from beating one of the state’s top-ranked 3A teams in a classic Catholic rivalry game.
JUNIOR VARSITY KEEPS ROLLING WITH SHUTOUT
The Lady Bulldogs JV team improved their record to 3-1-1 with a 2-0 victory over Juan Diego. Despite ending the first half scoreless, the Lady Bulldogs dominated play throughout the half with strong defense led by backs Erica DeHerrera, Laura Lighty, Simone Olive and Chelsea Reimer…as well as solid midfield play. Freshman Annie Loader got things going Judge’s way early in the second half with a sweet goal a off a pass from Sammie Gonzales. Forward Alexis Martinez got the final tally with a confident left footed drive from outside the eighteen. This was a game that the Bulldogs Junior Varsity controlled from the first whistle.