Lopez, Dons back Royals into a corner

Santa Barbara High star Briana Lopez was having a hard time getting any good scoring looks during Thursday night’s girls soccer match at San Marcos. The Royals had gone up 1-0 after a goal in the first half, and Lopez had a clear shot stopped by San Marcos goalie Kaitlyn Mendoza early in the second half.

Then she stepped into the corner of the pitch, and before you knew it the Dons had a 2-1 victory.

With just under 20 minutes to go, Lopez scored on a corner kick by bending a left-footed missile that somehow managed to find the very top corner of the far side of the goal. It had to be absolutely perfect to have a chance at sneaking in.

Rachel Venturino, left, and Katherine Crook, right, converge on Santa Barbara's Briana Lopez, center.

“That goes in about one in a hundred times, even with someone as skilled as Briana is,” said Dons coach Brian Lloyd. “It was a fantastic goal for us.”

“I always thought it would be really cool to bend a ball in, so I decided to put a little curve into it,” said Lopez. “Honestly, I had no idea it was going in.”

Less than 10 minutes after that, Lopez fired off another corner kick that found Kai Miller, who headed it in the back of the net.

It left the upset-minded Royals despondent after a physically and emotionally draining 80 minutes of play, especially since they had accomplished their goal of marking Lopez closely and limiting her chances. Coach Lloyd Biggs gave the tough defensive assignment to Melissa Robertson, whom he said did an excellent job.

“Defensively we accomplished what we set out to do, which was to cause some problems and frustrate them and I think we did well on that,” he said.

San Marcos’ goal came in the 25th minute of the first half, when a ball sent in from Rachel Venturino was taken by Alanna Mozingo, who sent it high into the air from about 25 yards out and into the goal at a downward angle.

“San Marcos really battled. They took us off of our game all night and they played with a lot of heart,” said Lloyd. “If they bring that kind energy every game they’re going to be a tough team to beat.”

It was a scrappy and physical matchup as well which sent nearly everyone tumbling to the ground at one point or another.

“When we play San Marcos it’ll always be a physical game because of the rivalry,” said Lopez.

The Dons are now 3-2-3 overall and 1-0 in league, while the Royals are 3-7, 0-1.