Dos Pueblos girls soccer came into Thursday’s crosstown rivalry against San Marcos sporting a four-match unbeaten streak, and the Chargers upped it to five thanks to two set-piece goals and a 2-0 win at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
With the victory, Dos Pueblos improved to 10-2-2 overall and holds a 5-1 Channel League record. San Marcos fell to 2-6-2 with a Channel League record of 1-3-2.
“We are still making our first pass in league, so every game is about feeling out your competition, and in the case of playing San Marcos, it doesn’t matter what sport, they’re going to be good,” Dos Pueblos head coach George Hedricks said.
“Everything changes in a rivalry game, but we played a really good and balanced match.”
The two teams were deadlocked early on, as in the first 20 minutes, each team mustered a couple of shots, one of which was on goal.
The Royals nearly broke the stalemate first, as Zeina Matni hit a high shot that Dos Pueblos goal keeper Jocelyn Symons smartly hit up against the crossbar and eventually came up with the save.
Symons, a senior, finished the night with four saves and got the shutout.
“I can’t say enough good things about Jocelyn,” Hedricks said. “She’s just a really good person, so her work ethic is paramount, and for her to step in the league game and play the way she did really speaks volumes.”
It was one of many opportunities that San Marcos had on Thursday night that, for one reason or another, just could not find the back of the net.
“Stylistically and technically, we’ve performed really well in most games, it’s just we haven’t been able to get those lucky breaks,” San Marcos coach Miguel Vences said.
“For the most part in the game, we responded well to individual moments, and we kept fighting, and we had our moments, they had theirs, and they capitalized on theirs.”
The Chargers capitalized on their first moment in the 25th minute, as sophomore Paige Ferro hit a free kick from about 17 yards out that found the top left corner, putting the home team up 1-0, which was also the halftime score.
In the second half, Dos Pueblos became much more aggressive, putting shots on goal and pressuring the San Marcos backline.
In the 66th minute, that aggression paid off as a corner kick from junior forward Brooklyn Hedricks found the far left post. In the right place at the right time was freshman forward Taylor Ofner, who headed the ball aggressively and pushed it right past the keeper to put the Chargers up 2-0.
Coach Hedricks said the team has struggled on set pieces throughout the year, so having two successful ones on Thursday speaks to the amount of work his team has put in.
“I’ve been really proud of our group and how hard they’ve worked. To be able to show them their hard work has paid off is great,” he said.
“You’re not always going to score on set pieces, but when you get them, you certainly need to take advantage when it’s there, and I thought we did tonight.”
It was also an important win for Dos Pueblos, as the Chargers are trying to keep pace with first-place Buena, which sports a 5-0-1 league mark.
“Early in the year, I thought our defense was really our backbone, and they still are, but we have found a better flow offensively and we are getting a much more balanced attack,” Hedricks said.
Despite the Royals’ rough start, Vences said he believes the team has made strides and is set up for success as Channel League play continues.
“I think we could have a much better second half of the season, but overall, we’re really happy with what the girls are doing. They’re responding and they’re doing everything the coaching staff is telling them to do,” Vences said.
Dos Pueblos’ next game is at Oxnard on Monday, while San Marcos travels to face Buena on Monday.