San Marcos bided its time before sticking in two goals late in the second half to upend Dos Pueblos 2-1 in a Channel League girls soccer match on Thursday afternoon at Girsh Park.
The Royals’ goals were scored and set up by their senior standouts. Cal Poly commit Danielle Anderson finished a free kick from Sierra Paladino in the 70th minute to level the score. Five minutes later, Pomona Pitzer-bound Chloe Hamer broke free on the left side, fired a shot that a diving Dos Pueblos goalkeeper couldn’t hold and Zoe Ise rushed in to bury the rebound for the eventual game winner.
Dos Pueblos almost pulled off a miraculous finish in the final seconds. Anya Schmitz headed Rocky Uyesaka’s corner kick and the ball wound up on the goal line at the far post. Unfortunately for the Chargers, San Marcos cleared it off the line just before the final whistle.
San Marcos improved to 5-0 in league and 9-2-2 overall. Dos Pueblos is 3-2 and 10-6-4.
“San Marcos is a tough team,” DP coach Hugh Hollis said. “They’ve played together a lot longer, that group, and their experience showed in the end.
“We fought till about the 70-minute mark and we just had two lapses at the end and they came out on top.”
The Chargers had their rivals on the defensive at the start of the game, as sisters Kiara and Kamila Pickett used their blazing speed to apply pressure.
The Picketts combined to give DP a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute. Kiara won the ball in midfield and crossed to Kamila, who charged at the middle of the back-peddling San Marcos defense. With three players trying to stop her, Kamila launched a 20-yard shot that found the back of the net.
The Chargers continued to be dangerous until Kiara Pickett left the game with a leg injury.
“It’s a recurring injury,” said Hollis. “It’s unfortunate because she’s been on fire and playing really well. We really missed her today.”
Kiara Pickett had recorded hat tricks in her last two matches.
Her absence definitely slowed the DP attack in the second half.
“Kiara is just an unbelievable player,” San Marcos coach Edwin Portillo said. “She didn’t play in the second half and that kind of took away from what they wanted to do and it gave us a chance to fight back.”
San Marcos started to create good scoring chances. In the 44th minute, Anderson beat the goalkeeper to a slow rolling ball at the top of the penalty area but her shot trickled wide. Later, Anderson hit a high, long ball into the penalty area, but DP goalkeeper Anali Salazar got to it before a Royal attacker.
“We just couldn’t cross the ball or crash the box in the first half,” Portillo said. “Second half we did that better and (San Marcos) allowed us to use the width (of the field) a little bit more because they were tucking in. We ended up getting more crosses and chances in the box the last 20 minutes.”
Charger defender Lauren Buie broke up an Anderson run on goal and Josey Morales cleared the ball out of danger in the 59th minute. Buie made another big defensive play on a corner kick, using her knees to clear the ball out of the box.
Salazar made a diving save on Anderson in the 67th minute before the Royals’ standout delivered on Palladino’s left-footed free kick from about 25 yards.
The Royals almost took the lead two minutes later. Ise sent Hamer through and the ball was deflected to Anderson whose shot was stopped by a diving Salazar.
San Marcos wouldn’t be denied the next time Hamer bolted into the DP 18-yard box. She ripped a shot that the goalkeeper couldn’t hold and Ise cashed in on the rebound.
“Sometimes that’s all it takes when you have players like that,” Hollis said of Hamer’s play. “They just need one opportunity. We have to be mindful of that.”
Hamer’s hard runs on goal are what the Royals are used to seeing in games.
“Unfortunately, she got a little banged up in the Santa Barbara game on Saturday, so this week she was off for three days,” Portillo said. “We didn’t start her, but you can see when she comes in she takes over on the left side. She makes things happen.”