After four games in a grueling two-day span, the Dos Pueblos girls soccer team fell just short of the Santa Maria Holiday Tournament title on Tuesday, falling to San Luis Obispo on penalty kicks in the final match.
“The girls really stepped it up to the next level. They played whistle-to-whistle, and I’m very proud of them,” said coach Molly Imel.
Goalie Meagan Bellefeuille makes a diving save during the shootout in the championship match (Lisa Bradley photo).
Goalie Meagan Bellefeuille was sensational in all four games and managed to stop a penalty kick during the shootout on the championship match, but the Chargers were foiled by the Tigers in the sixth round of the duel.
On Monday, the Chargers began by taking down Morro Bay 3-1. Rachel Smith struck first off of an assist by Erin Ristig, and Ristig later scored off of an assist by Misty Soto. Marina Plesons assisted Claire Mathews on the Chargers’ third goal.
The second game of the day came against Nipomo, and it remained scoreless until Imel pushed all of her attackers forward in the final minutes. Ristig, a speedy junior, took it down the flank and buried the game-winner with less than two minutes remaining to move the Chargers into the semifinals. Mallory Meyer got the shutout in the match.
Imel said that Amber Altavilla’s one-woman defense during the late attack allowed Ristig’s run, and she called Ristig “one of the most coachable, talented and hard working athletes I have seen in my 20 years in coaching.”
Tuesday began with Bellefeuille and Chloe Kroes combining on a 3-0 shutout of Paso Robles. Mathews scored on a penalty kick in the fourth minute, and Plesons was assisted by Brandie Harris in the 18th. Harris then dished one off to Michelle Gee for a goal less than two minutes later.
SLO and Dos Pueblos had battled to a 1-1 tie in the Chargers’ second game of the season back on December 4th, and it was a stalemate once again as they went scoreless into the tournament’s decisive shootout.
Coach Imel highlighted the steady defense of Kristen Witchey throughout all 240 minutes of play in the tournament.
“Kristen controls our backfield and sets an atmosphere of steady confidence coupled with discipline. She’s unbeatable in the air and can clear with precision to our feet,” she said.
The Chargers (5-4-4) will open up league play by hosting Ventura on January 7th.
“They have trained very hard to get to this point and are a completely different team than when we stepped on the field about 6 weeks ago…We are excited (for league). We are ready and waiting,” she added.
Dos Pueblos senior Nicole Gee contends with two Tiger defenders (Lisa Bradley photo).
