A small-school soccer showdown between Bishop Diego and Laguna Blanca was dominated by the Owls on Monday, as Laguna picked up a 5-1 win.
“Laguna’s just a bigger, stronger team,” said Cardinals coach Brent Gonsalves. “They just out-muscled us to the ball.”
Owls coach Gregg Luna, however, gave props to the Cardinals, saying “the score really doesn’t reflect the competitiveness of play.”
Lauren McAlister scored the Owls’ final two goals, with both being assisted by McKenzie Scarborough. McAlister, a left-footed player, used her right foot to put Laguna up 4-0 at around the 20th minute of the second half. Fifteen minutes after that, she out-jumped everyone else and used her head on a ball sent in by Scarborough to make it 5-0.
Candace Melgoza spoiled the shutout, scoring with just two minutes left with a 1-on-1 goal. Gonsalves gave credit to Cardinals midfielder Natalie Durtche for effectively defending Owls standout Erin Stone, and he also was pleased with Melgoza’s fellow forwards, Allison Carr and Jordan Price.
Ari Rodriguez got the Owls on the board in the 25th minute, and Scarborough scored 10 minutes after that as Laguna took a 2-0 lead into the break.Becca Braly found the back of the net 10 minutes into the second half, and the Scarborough-McAlister connection took it from there.
Luna said his team is starting to pick up steam and return to the level of play that took them to the CIF semifinals last year.
“We’re slowly getting back into that mode. They’re becoming a team and finding their own identity,” he said.
The Owls (5-2, 1-0 Condor League) host Channel Islands on Thursday while the Cardinals (3-4) host a rivalry game against Carpinteria on Friday.
