The Los Medanos College Mustangs Women’s Soccer Team played hosts to Las Positas College Hawks in a 2-1 loss on Wednesday Sept. 11. After a strong start to the season, the loss ended a two home-match winning streak.

The Mustangs began with a slow start as the visiting team had much of the possession and showed strong offensive play. Mustang goalkeeper, Alissa Caburnay, was called into action very early into the match and was forced to make many saves in the opening minutes of the match while the Hawks had the momentum in their favor and were outshooting the Mustangs.

The Mustangs conceded the first goal of the match in the 22nd minute of the match. After a defensive error, Carburnay was left in a one-on-one situation and the opposition was able to find the back of the net.

 “They were shifting way to the side instead of actually marking their players, and they were [caught] ball watching.” said Caburnay.

Head coach Zach Sullivan expressed that he was proud of the way in which his team performed, because Las Positas College was ranked higher than the Los Medanos College by the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA).

“I thought the girl’s intensity picked up a little bit, and started to play a little better as the game went on,” said Sullivan, who was referring to the team’s reaction after going down 1-0.

It didn’t take long after conceding the goal for the Mustangs to create goal-scoring opportunities. In the 24th minute, the Mustangs were called offside in their attempt to find an immediate equalizer. It wasn’t until the 33rd minute when LMC got another chance on goal the Mustangs received a free kick in the offensive half which was redirected to Jocelyn Guitierrez. Guitierrez’s redirection made its way over the Hawks goalkeeper, but was cleared away by nearby Hawks defenders.

For the remainder of the first half, LMC created many equalizing opportunities, but the opposing goalkeeper was able to keep the ball out of the net.

Straight into the second half, the Hawks were denied a 2-0 lead thanks to the crossbar and a save from Caburnay. Los Medanos would continue creating goal-scoring opportunities and throughout the second half, the Mustangs were eager to score. In the 60th minute of the game, several Mustang players missed the opportunity to score while the ball was in the 18-yard box.

Late into the second half, Los Medanos was still trailing 1-0. In the 82nd minute, Sarah Figueroa had the opportunity to tie to game with a pass by Marianna Giovanetti after a one-on-one play with the goalkeeper.

Alissa Caburnay made a huge save in the 84th minute to keep the score 1-0 after the Hawks had a breakaway with a chance to extend their lead.

With three minutes left on the clock, the Mustangs were awarded a penalty kick after a foul by the Hawks in their 18-yard box. Sarah Figueroa converted from the spot, shooting it past the goalkeepers right side.

Late into stoppage time, the Mustangs conceded a goal to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead. The goal would ultimately be the last play of the game, which would not give the Mustangs the opportunity to find the back of the net for the second time.

Coach Sullivan said about the loss,

“It’s about managing games and knowing that there’s a minute left, so you have to play a little different, everyone has to defend. We got a little careless, we were still excited about the goal and tying it up that we forgot to finish off the game.”

The Mustangs return to action at home against Canada College Friday, Sept. 13 with 2 p.m. kickoff. For more information on the Mustang Soccer Team, visit https://www.losmedanos.edu/soccer/.