Aragon sits atop Bay girls’ soccer standings

With the game tied 1-1 in the second half, the Dons scored twice in a three-minute stretch. A Terra Nova foul gave midfielder Jayla Stokesberry a free kick from 25 yards out, and the senior buried it at the back post to give Aragon a 2-1 lead in the 62nd minute.

“It was a phenomenal shot,” Aragon head coach Mike Flynn said.

It was a physical back-and-forth from the outset, but the play leading up to the foul got particularly rough. Terra Nova went on to draw two yellow cards in the game, while Aragon drew a yellow and a red, causing the Dons to play a man down through the last 10 minutes.

“They were extremely physical, chipping away at us all game,” Flynn said.

Terra Nova head coach Dave Downing said that, prior to the pivotal free kick, there was a play in which one of his players claimed to get karate chopped in the neck by an opponent. No foul was called on the play. The Terra Nova player then committed a foul in return, according to Downing.

“It was a dogfight,” Downing said. “It was a really hard-fought game. … I thought we were controlling the second half until we committed that foul.”

Then in the 65th minute, Aragon forward Hannah Flynn won a ball at midfield. The senior sent the ball up to Alexa Abad, who dribbled and distributed to junior forward Abby Chang. Chang streaked through the middle and fired home the final goal of the game.

Aragon drew a red card with 10 minutes to play when two opposing players got tangled while going for the ball downfield, according to Flynn.

“[Aragon senior Grace Simenc] was chasing down a ball and kind of got in a tussle with their defender,” Flynn said, “and she just kind of wrapped herself around our player trying to shield the ball … and our girl just pushed her; and [the Terra Nova defender] just flopped. And it was a straight red.”

Aragon never trailed in the game. The Dons got on the board in the fifth minute on a corner kick by Genevieve Bigue, who put the ball in to Madeline Crowley for an assist to senior midfielder Sophie Louie, to put Aragon up 1-0.

Terra Nova entered play with just eight goals over its first 11 games, but got an equalizer late in the first half. Senior forward Kaia Ford got through the back rank to score her second goal of the season, tying it 1-1.

The Tigers (1-2-1, 3-3-5) couldn’t overcome a second deficit, however, and now stay tied for fourth place in the PAL Bay Division.

“That’s a tough loss,” Downing said.

Downing said he’s hoping his team will settle in at home over the second half of the season. Three of the Tigers’ four league games thus far have been played on the road. Five of their next six will be played at home.

“We’re hoping our home field will ignite our offense a little bit,” Downing said.