Bishop Diego came back not once but twice in Monday’s girls soccer match at Santa Clara, eventually winning 3-2 on a penalty kick from Candace Melgoza in the 70th minute.
The Cardinals, now 2-2 in the Frontier League, trailed 1-0 after a Saints goal in the 24th minute, then trailed 2-1 after Santa Clara scored on a penalty kick in the 60th minute.
“I was really proud of the team today for not panicking in that situation. We were unusually even-keeled. We’d get scored on and they didn’t drop their heads,” said coach Brent Gonsalves.
Allison Carr buried a corner kick from Natalie Durtche in the 26th minute that tied the score at 1-1. Four minutes after Santa Clara’s penalty kick in the 60th, Melissa Georgi found the back of the net in on a 19-yard free kick to knot things up again.
Melgoza beat her defender and was taken down in the box by Santa Clara’s sweeper, leading to the game-winner in the 70th. The same thing happened in the 80th minute, but she wasn’t able to convert.
Lingering make-up games due to the recent rains have left lots of catching up to do for the league’s teams, but the Cardinals are currently in a tie for first place and are looking for their first playoff appearance in quite some time.
Gonsalves highlighted the play of seniors Selena Schmidt and Michelle Salazar in the midfield as well as Cynthia Trejo on defense.
