Carpinteria scored first in Tuesday’s CIF Division 7 game against Moreno Valley but couldn’t hold on and fell 2-1 to the visitors.
Moreno Valley equalized on a free kick that was sent into the penalty area but not cleared after a couple bounces, allowing the Vikings to get off their only shot on goal of the first half.
The Vikings scored again in the first minute of the second half when a forward got behind the defense and received a long pass just after the restart.
Warriors head coach Charles Bryant was stunned by the loss.
“I am very proud of our effort and I really felt our girls
deserved to advance,” Bryant reported. “But I give Moreno Valley credit. They were very fast and physical and they did a better job on those fronts than we did. If we had a bad touch, they were right there to strip the ball. They challenged every ball and were a very disruptive team.”
Kelsie Bryant scored for the Warriors, the senior’s 14th goal of the season.
It was a battle of league champions as the Warriors won the Frontier League and Moreno Valley the Mountain Valley League.
Carpinteria’s season was significant for more than the league championship as the Warriors won a CIF game for the first time in program history and finished with the most wins (15).
The Warriors will graduate 11 seniors: Alexa Benitez, Natalie Saito, Bryant, Brenda Garcia, Elie Morgan, Sofia Vargas, Monica Garcia, Megan Garcia, Lesly Zapata, Merissa Souza and Giselle Estrada.
