Cate overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit on Tuesday to defeat Santa Clara 3-2 in a Tri-Valley League game.
“A two-goal deficit is not the ideal position to be in at half-time, but it turned out that we needed this challenge to get our heads and hearts in the game,” said Rams head coach Lisa Holmes.
Isabela Montes De Oca scored two goals in the second half, the first on a penalty kick and the second – the game winner – off an assist from Sumner Matthews.
Maddie Becker scored Cate’s second goal, giving Sophie Johnson an assist. Holmes raved about freshman Julia Farner, who played at sweeper for the first time.
“This was a collective effort. We were collectively bad in the first half and collectively courageous in the second,” Holmes said.
Cate plays at Carpinteria on Thursday in another league match.
