An offsides trap can make an attacking soccer team crazy.
The Bishop Diego girls soccer team was whistled for several offsides calls against a trapping Carpinteria back line in Monday’s rescheduled rivalry match at Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium.
But there was one instance when the Cardinals beat it, and they made the Warriors pay.
Forward Annelise Morando beat the trap 40 yards away from the goal and broke in for the only score of the game to give Bishop a 1-0 non-league victory on a chilly evening.
“That was kind of hard for our team to get past,” Morando said of Carpinteria’s tactic of trapping.
“We run a trap and we’re still working on it,” Carpinteria coach Charles Bryant said. “It’s hard. I’m not a trap person. But the girls have all done it before, so they’re running it and they’re doing fine with it. I’m more concerned about accountability back there versus when they push up.”
The Warriors had the better run of play in the first half, but Bishop’s back four played well and thwarted any serious scoring chances.
The Cardinals’ back line consists of Amanda Garcia, Brook Gignac, Judith Angulo and Ashlee Cordeiro.
“They are the hardest workers out of anybody on our team,” first-year Bishop coach Tessa Binkley said. “Their touches, their tackles, everything. I think 95 percent of their tackles they go in they win the ball. They can run forever, they work so hard and they work together. They are the leaders of the team, definitely.”
Bishop broke the scoreless draw in the 47th minute when Morando got the ball on top and outran three Carpinteria defenders before firing a shot past the goalkeeper from 15 yards out.
“She’s a great force in the center,” Binkley said of Morando. “Her dribbling skills are amazing to get through (defenses), and making those runs through and having the composure in front of the goal… I think a lot of our other players need to work on that.”
The win improved Bishop’s record to 2-3-1. Carpinteria was playing only its third game and is 1-1-1.
Bryant said his team is still scrambling to find itself.
“We’re not connecting like we should be connecting. We have a good possession team but we’re not possessing,” he said. “We’re either too close or too spread out. We’re having a hard time.”
Bryant said the Warriors played fine in parts of the game, but Bishop was the better team on this night.
“Give Bishop credit,” he said. “They kept fighting. They were the stronger team; they kept plugging.”
