The Santa Rosa Junior College women’s soccer team tied Hartnell College 1-1, despite a near missed goal opportunity that would’ve given the Bear Cubs the win Tuesday.
This was a game were the Bear Cubs were wearing teal and purple ribbons for suicide awareness.
The Bear Cubs held on to secure the tie but had a chance with the minutes dwindling in the match to take the lead when midfielder Olivia Hohnstein almost scored with a shot outside the box but it went just wide as the referee blew the final whistle.
In the first half, both teams played well defensively. The Bear Cubs double-teamed and pressed the Panthers, causing them to lose the ball and make mistakes. SRJC forward Shae Dougherty had a high-powered shot on goal from outside the box but it just went over the crossbar in the 27th minute.
A minute later, SRJC goalkeeper Dorothy Nickel made a great save. In a one-on-one situation with a Hartnell forward, Nickel slid and smothered the ball to keep the Panthers forward from scoring.
SRJC Coach Crystal Chaidez spoke about goal scoring opportunities in the match. The Bear Cubs had many great goal scoring opportunities but it was a game where the ball didn’t want to go behind the net.
“That’s what we talked about at halftime. Having our chances and finishing our chances. We had three or four amazing corners at the beginning of the game, and that’s what I told them, we need to put those away because that gets the other team on their heels, and it kinda gives us that little edge at the beginning,” Chaidez said.
In the second half, Panthers forward Yasmin Avalos almost scored but Nickel made a fantastic save, diving to deflect the ball and keep the match scoreless..
The Bear Cubs received a lot of pressure as Hartnell looked for the opening goal. The Panthers scored the first goal of the match in the 69th minute as forward Jacky Vazquez scored a stunning goal from outside the box.
With the Bear Cubs looking to get back in the match,Dougherty almost scored a header from a corner kick but missed wide. The Bear Cubs kept their hopes alive as forward Taylor Gandy scored a fantastic goal, running inside the box and rounding the goalkeeper to equalize the score in the dying minutes of the match.
“It was definitely a high stress situation and I was waiting to see what the goalkeeper was gonna do. I questioned if I should shoot it, but she was in a really good spot, and so I just waited for her to come out, kinda kicked to the side and the goal was wide open,” Gandy said.
The Bear Cubs will play their next match at Butte College at 2 p.m. on Friday Sept. 27.
