San Luis Obispo girls soccer falls to South Hills in regional final
Top-seeded South Hills scored two second-half goals in the CIF Regional Division 3 final to defeat the No. 3 seed San Luis Obispo girls soccer team 2-1 on Saturday at Covina District Field.
First Half
South Hills came out swinging in the first half. The No. 9 team in the nation, according to MaxPreps, put pressure on the San Luis Obispo defense and reeled off seven shots while the Tigers attempted none.
Second Half
The South Hills offense was persistent in the second half, too. South Hills finally broke through with a goal after earning a free kick about 30 yards from the goal. When the ball was whipped in by South Hills’ Hannah Shields, a pass by Skylar Robledo found Emily Roberts right in front of the goal. She tapped it home with 16 minutes to go.
South Hills finally breaks through with a goal. Now lead 1-0 with 16 left. pic.twitter.com/hiTTNfktHD
— Travis Gibson (@TravisDgibson) March 12, 2016
Equalizer
South Hills looked like it would cruise to victory, but San Luis Obispo scored six minutes later off a free kick of its own. Rylie Johnson’s cross was bounced around in the box before sophomore Emily Lemiere poked a shot in the back of the net.
Equalizer! SLO comes out of the scrum with a huge goal. 10 left. pic.twitter.com/dn5bqltN4Q
— Travis Gibson (@TravisDgibson) March 12, 2016
Game-Winner
The Tigers pushed forward in the final minutes looking for a game-winning goal, but that left the door open for a South Hills’ counterattack. The Huskies’ senior duo of Amber Marinero and Hailey Zerbel (an Arizona State commit) combined for the game-winning goal with six minutes left.
SLO pushes up and South Hills comes back with a beautiful counter attack. 2-1. 7 left. pic.twitter.com/RNdkwj5ydK
— Travis Gibson (@TravisDgibson) March 12, 2016
Field
South Hills took advantage of being at home. The perfectly kept artificial turf was about 20 yards wider than San Luis Obispo’s home field. South Hills spread the Tigers defense wide and worked the ball up the wings, creating chance after chance.
SLO’s Player of the Game
South Hills got off 15 shots on a Tigers’ defense that had only allowed 10 goals all season. Seven of those shots were saved by sophomore goalkeeper Eislee Sohner. Sohner, who was battling illness and a small case of pink eye, kept South Hills at bay with a kick save with 10 minutes to go in the first half. She also had three saves in the second half.
Record-Breaking Season
With its runner-up finish in the Division 3 CIF Southern Region, San Luis Obispo tied a school record for wins and became the first team in San Luis Obispo County history to win a game in the state tournament.
This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 4:45 PM with the headline "San Luis Obispo girls soccer falls to South Hills in regional final."