M-A lady kickers win thriller at Hillsdale

“It’s one of those games in soccer where you never know if it’s going to come,” M-A head coach Jason Luce said. “But we just kept plugging away and our veteran, Jimena, came through and scored it.”

In three league matches this season, M-A has surrendered just one goal. That came last Thursday in a 1-1 tie with Woodside, as the Bears gave up the equalizer in the closing minute. This time, M-A turned the tables to finish on a high note.

“For this game, we knew it was really important for us because they’re also in our league,” M-A forward Valerie Latu-Nava said. “So, we really needed to win this game. I think it was more of a fire under our butts to get this win.”

Latu-Nava earned the assist on Sandoval’s game-winner, dribbling across the top of the box before tapping it over to set the controversial goal in motion. On the exchange, Hillsdale defender Claire Shelton tripped over Latu-Nava, leaving a wide-open lane to the cage. And Sandoval ran right up it to score from close range.

“It was a game-is-on-the-line type thing,” Latu-Nava said. “So, I played her the ball, and the girl was in front of me. So, I laid it off to her, and then she tripped over me, and then Jimena had all the time. But she just placed it really good.”

Hillsdale (1-2, 2-6-3) contended there should have been a penalty called on the play, but to no avail.

“It was really unfortunate,” Hillsdale head coach Sam Fernandez said. “I thought it was a really questionable call; one of my players got tripped right in the box. … Claire, that got tripped, was a center back, so it definitely opened a gap for their player to go right down.”

M-A had chances all day long, including two balls that were deflected off the post. But time and again, Woo stepped up to frustrate the Bears’ offense.

Woo and Shelton set the tone early. M-A had a great chance in the 10th minute when Latu-Nava slipped behind the back rank to earn a 1 v 1 with Woo. Hillsdale’s keeper charged out of the box to get a foot on the ball, impeding Latu-Nava’s progress long enough to allow Shelton to sprint in behind her.

“I was kind of just thinking, just trying to cut off all the angles, trying to come up,” Woo said. “Obviously I didn’t get low, but I tried to get low to the ball, so I’d be able to grab it out.”

By the time Latu-Nava regained control, however, Shelton was there to produce a close defection, and Woo pounced on it to keep the Bears off the board.

“It was very important,” Woo said. “If she hadn’t done that, they could have had an easy shot.”

For all the chances M-A’s offense had, however, it was the defense that anchored the victory. Juniors Georgia Auerbach and Camille Melcher didn’t let anything through all day. While Hillsdale’s fans were constantly yelling “put it in the mixer,” calling for the Knights to play the ball into the box and move it around to create chaos, M-A’s defensive wall never gave them the chance.

“I think we’re a defensive team,” Luce said. “We strive to be that way. That’s the basis of all our stuff. … We have veterans that have played for me for a long time. That’s us in a nutshell.”

Hillsdale has enjoyed some dramatics of its own this season. Last Tuesday against Sequoia, the Knights turned an early 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win, as Lauren Davis scored an equalizer late in the first half, and Ava Kiang redirected a corner kick in the closing minutes to win it.

“I think Sequoia and M-A would probably be the strongest teams in this division,” Fernandez said. “So, I think this was a really good challenge for us. I thought it was a well-fought game between both the teams. They had their moments and they had amazing shots, but I thought what Camryn did … I believe it was (her best game). So, she was really going for it.”