Coast Union soccer teams stumble
It always hurts to lose a hard-fought, evenly matched soccer game, but it is especially tough when the opposing team beats you in the last couple minutes of the match.
That’s what happened to the Lady Broncos on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at Dunn School; the Earwigs booted in a goal with 2 minutes left to take a 3-2 lead, and Coast Union didn’t have the time or the opening to get back up the field for the tying score.
Martha Gomez and Lindy Ortiz were credited with the two scores for Coast. Cynthia Cadena saved four shots in goal.
That sort of last-minute bad fortune isn’t new for Coast Union: It has happened to the team four times, head coach Jack Mettier reported. Coming into this week, the team had won four and lost six during a season Mettier said has been “fraught with injuries.” But, he added, “we will just have to rise again.”
Mettier said his team played “very well considering we hadn’t played in a month.”
The next home match for the Lady Broncos is Friday, Jan. 29, against Midland, a 5 p.m. game.
Boys
The Coast Union boys soccer squad came up on the short end of a 4-2 score against Laguna Blanca on Thursday, Jan. 14, at Coast Union. The loss left the Broncos’ season record at 6-8-1. Sophomore forward Leonardo Martinez notched one of Coast’s scores, and sophomore midfielder Dante Garcia booted in the other.
Head coach Luis Plasencia reported that even though the Broncos created a lot of plays in the first half, they weren’t able to score; so the first half ended 3-0 in favor of Laguna Blanca.
Plasencia credited his team with being loaded with talented players and he said they have progressed as far as skills and tactics. But he identified the problems as boiling down to leadership and communication.
“My captains are like mute players … they don’t communicate in the field” with their teammates, and communication “is very important,” Plasencia explained.
The coach did not cite the rainy, muddy conditions as an excuse.
“In some games, the kids are not able to perform as good as they want to. As we know, the field conditions are not the best, but the players don’t adapt to the conditions fast enough,” Plasencia said.
As El Niño continues to dump rain on the playing field at Coast Union, the Broncos will play at home on that soggy field Friday, Jan. 22, against Orcutt Academy. That game begins at 6 p.m.
This sports report is special to The Cambrian.
This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 10:08 AM with the headline "Coast Union soccer teams stumble."