by Benjamin Minch, Staff Writer
The defense of the Barons could not be penetrated on Thursday, as they blocked countless numbers of shots and kicks. Unfortunately, despite this stellar performance, the Baron offense was unable to find a rhythm and Fountain Valley lost to Huntington Beach with a score of 1-2 in overtime.
The defense of the Barons was crucial to their early game success and blocked two shots by the Oilers’ forwards. A long kick from Brianna Giuntoli (‘18) to the midfield caused a scoring opportunity for the Barons, but it was intercepted by the Oilers. Luckily, the Oilers made the mistake of passing the ball to Marissa Lynch (‘18) in an attempt to clear the ball. Lynch took a shot from 15 yards out and score with a breeze putting the Barons up 1-0 very early in the game.
This boost in morale and confidence carried into the next possessions as Kylie Wilson (‘18) came very close to scoring another goal, but was blocked by the goalkeeper. After this attempt, the offense for Fountain Valley lost energy, and the game shifted onto the defense’s shoulders. Luckily, the defense of the Barons was ready to step up and perform.
Lead by Captains Karly Duda (‘17) and Allison Bebout (‘18), iron wall defense was unpenetrated. Every ball that the Oilers tried to drive down the field was easily swept away by the defense, or stopped by goalkeeper Aysia Buendia (‘17). Great throw-ins by Kate Lehr (‘17) and Sandra Hawryla (‘17) kept the Oilers away from the goal. Tackles made by Alyssia Rubio (‘20) and Allison Bebout (‘18) caused constant pressure to the Oilers and weakened their stamina.
The Oilers however, finally surpassed the wall towards the end of the first half and scored in the corner of the goal making the score at halftime 1-1.
The Baron defense continued to hold the line despite the Oilers having the ball 75% of the time. Constant attacks against the defensive wall were being made in attempts to weaken it, and they were working. Aysia Buendia (‘17) however, picked up her game and started playing phenomenally with five great saves and many free kicks and blocks.
Towards the end of the game, you could tell the players were getting tired and anxious to score a goal based on the amount of yellow cards given. Three yellow cards were given to players in the span of just 60 seconds a number unheard of in soccer!
The game ended with a score still tied at 1-1, so it went into overtime. This is the third time this season the Barons have gone into overtime, none of those times they have won. Battling against the odds, the Barons started to get an offensive rhythm going and scored a goal. Two corner kicks were given to Fountain Valley, but neither ended in a goal. The closest shot was taken by defender Kate Lehr (‘17), bounced off of the top crossbar.
The final score of 1-2 was ultimately decided by a bad call by the referee, who didn’t call a penalty on a Huntington player for hitting the ball out of the goalkeeper’s hand on a shot to score a goal. Fountain Valley players and fans were enraged at the call, and very disappointed that the Barons had lost their winning streak of three games.
“I thought the girls played really well, but sometimes you just get unlucky with the referees,” said Coach Scott Goldman.
The girls are still hoping to move up in the rankings in the Sunset League as all the teams are very close, with only a one game separation.
