The Bishop Diego girls soccer team put a bit of a scare into Frontier League-leading Santa Paula on Thursday, playing the Cardinals tough before falling 3-1 at Bishop.
Allison Carr set up Candace Melgoza for her team-leading eighth goal of the season early in the second half to bring Bishop to within a goal.
Even though the visiting Cardinals tacked on a late score, the 3-1 result was a marked improvement over the last time the two teams met, when Santa Paula walked away with an 8-3 victory.
“We played a very outstanding game today,” said head coach Brent Gonsalves, whose team next faces Villanova on Tuesday at home.
Gonsalves noted strong play from Mariel Santana, who was playing out of position as a central defender. Junior Selena Schmidt got her first start of the season as the goalkeeper and received high praise from her coach.
