The Los Medanos College Mustangs delivered a decisive victory against the Las Positas Hawks yesterday on home turf, their first of the season. The game was a fierce competition throughout the 90 minutes, but LMC managed to hold on for dear life throughout both halves to put a solid win in the books.
“Going into this game we had a positive mindset and knew we were the better team and took that to our advantage,” said LMC’s No. 26 Adison Judd.
The game started off well for the Mustangs, with a lot of time on the offensive end putting pressure on the defense and learning their weak spots. This paid off for LMC in the middle of the first half when a drive down the right sideline resulted in a corner kick for LMC. The players crowded in front of Las Positas’s goal and waited for the ball to soar in, Both teams continued fighting hard and had very good chances.
It was clear however that the Mustangs were moving the ball much better, finding space and creating opportunities for attack. The forwards were consistently offered breakaways, the midfield were finding themselves wide open to pass and receive and defenders managed to contain Las Positas’s stronger players.
Towards the end of the first half however, LMC narrowly avoided disaster when a lone Los Positas attacker broke through the defense with a perfectly placed through-ball and had a wide open shot on the goal, with only LMC’s goalkeeper, No. 13 Lily Green standing in the way. Green pressed forward, forcing a shot, the ball rocketed off the attackers foot, went careening right of Green, and just barely ricocheted off the goalpost and away.
Shaken but not deterred, the Mustangs managed to hold on and by the time the half was over, the score still sat at 1-0 LMC.
Kicking off the start of the second half Los Positas came out pretty aggressive, they dealt with a constant offense pressuring the defending side for the entire opening. LMC did not let up at all though, allowing for no goals and maintaining superior ball movement. Las Positas was given no chance for attack between vigorous defense and No. 1 Marina Bond holding down the goal.Bond had 3 saves during the second half, ultimately being a key player on Tuesday’s win.
“We went into the game hungry to win and looking to break our loss streak,” said Judd. “We brought speed, physicality and composure to achieve a clean sheet vs Las Positas.”
I mean, they were hungry and proved it in this game. The right side of the field had a majority of the ball’s movement in the second half with a lot of ball control being present from the defense pushing it up the field constantly to keep the opposing team moving. No. 3 Alondra Tellez being a vital player in these aggressive ball movements especially on the left side pushing it up and threatening the defense in multiple ways.
The LMC off the ball movements were phenomenal as well, allowing them to open up space for plays and allowing versatility in their plays. A spectator could see the team finding their groove and moving quicker, smoother, better. By the end of the second half, it paid off.
The final goal of the game was delivered a minutes from end of regulation by No. 20 Tete McCarthy who was assisted by No. 12 Elyse Baldwin in a brutal two on one play moving into the goalkeeper zone. The coordinated pass allowed for this goal in the late game ultimately deciding the rest of the course of the game and confirming this victory.
“We hope to approach the remainder of our season with the same ambitious energy we brought to the field today,” said Judd. “Gaining that win took hard work and with that we can do well this season.”
Below are additional photos and reporting from the game. All photos can be found here.
