The Cate girls soccer team took home some bumps and bruises with its hard-fought 2-1 victory over Bishop Diego on Wednesday, overcoming an attacking Cardinals squad on the Bishop field.
“They really pressured us at the end,” said Cate coach Lisa Holmes, who blamed some late-game fatigue on an injury and several illnesses that reduced Cate’s bench to two players.
Cate goalkeeper Grace Gail relieved most Bishop’s pressure, stopping 14 Cardinal shots throughout the game. Gail didn’t escape the physical matchup, however, getting knocked in the head by a Cardinals player in the second half that kept her on the ground a few extra moments.
“Grace Gail had a phenomenal game,” praised Holmes, whose team improves to 2-0.
“I’m promising this year we are going to play good attacking and exciting soccer and I felt that’s what we did today,” justified Bishop Diego head coach Brent Gonsalves, noting that it was the type of game that could have gone either way.
Frances Roche and Brennan Cusack gave the Rams a two-goal first half cushion with scores in the 24th and 28th minute. Roche got the first on an indirect kick, Cusack the second on a Shelby DeGroot assist. Cusack now has four goals in two games.
Candace Melgoza did break through in the 46th minute for the Cardinals, knocking home a penalty kick into the top-left corner.
But the Cardinals couldn’t find the equalizer even though they attempted 16 shots.
Melgoza, a junior captain, kept a positive attitude.
“We’re probably going to have a really great season,” predicted the forward, who had a goal and an assist in Bishop’s 3-0 win over Santa Clara on Friday.
“We have overall a really good offense and our defense is really good.”
The Cardinals have a rematch with crosstown rival Carpinteria on Friday. The Warriors beat the Cardinals 4-1 in Bishop’s season-opener.
Cate can extend its unbeaten season on Saturday at home against Pasadena Poly.
“We’ve been making sure we focused really hard in practice and are playing our hearts out,” said Cate junior Molly Sprague about the early-season success. “Our goal is to out-run every team that we play. So far we’ve done that.”
