The San Diego Mesa women’s soccer team failed to extend their winning streak, losing in a hard-fought, chippy conference game against the San Diego Miramar Jets. The Olympians could not keep up pace with the home team at Miramar’s Hourglass Park on Nov. 1, with their late second-half rally falling short, 3-1.
Mesa started off strong early in the game controlling the possession and had a handful of close scoring chances, leading onlookers to believe Mesa was going to continue their recent success and sweep Miramar this season. But with six minutes left in the first half, Miramar’s Ariana Turner took advantage of an odd-man rush, scoring off a wide-open cross to take a one-goal lead.
After the half, the Olympians looked to capitalize on one of their many chances but struggled to be more clinical with their shots. Instead, Miramar’s Jaedyn Thibededeau scored off a cross from Turner, extending their lead by two.
Mesa, tired and down, refused to throw in the towel. With four minutes left from a throw-in, Paradyse Wong sent a short shot past the Jets’ goalkeeper to cut the deficit to one. The momentum shifted back to Mesa’s side, who had very little time to even up the game before time expired. This rushed attack backfired on Mesa as Miramar’s Jenna Fields ripped away any chance Mesa had at completing a miraculous comeback, scoring on a pass from Elise Avila to end the game with a 3-1 victory over the Olympians.
After failing to successfully repeat their victory over the Jets earlier in the season, San Diego Mesa Head Coach Melissa Warner believed they were correctly positioned to win the game.
“We had our chances and we just couldn’t convert them, it really comes down to that,” Warner said. When Warner was asked how to capitalize on their scoring chances in the future, she believed this result was an outlier, stating that the team has to “continue to play our game…, going forward we just have to keep our head and keep our calm.”
Friday’s late-season loss to Miramar could wind up hurting the Olympians’ chances to make the playoffs as Mesa and Miramar are now tied for third in conference standings as both teams attempt to make their playoff push. Warner hopes “that this result doesn’t keep us from being there(playoffs), and outside of that I’m still hopeful that we can finish out the rest of the season strong and get to the playoffs”.
The Olympians’ (10-4) postseason push includes two more conference games. They will face the Palomar College Comets on Friday, Nov. 8, and the conference-leading MiraCosta Spartans on Friday, Nov. 15. Both of these games will be played on the road for the Olympians, as they look to close out the regular season strongly, successfully putting them in the playoffs later in November.
