Sequoia unlucky in loss

The Ravens had three shots hit the post — one in the first half and two more in the second — and fourth slam off the crossbar in the second half. If the Ravens converted those, it’s a 4-2 win.

“Well, if we’re counting posts, then [SI] hit one, too,” said Sequoia head coach Melissa Schmidt. “So, it would have been 4-3.”

Instead, its the third defeat in five games as Sequoia (1-3-1) wrapped up a brutal, pre-holiday schedule that saw the Ravens face some of the top teams in the Central Coast Section — including Mitty, Los Gatos and Mountain View.

You can put SI on that list, as well, because the Wildcats played a fantastic game. They dominated every aspect of the game in the first half, using pinpoint passing and their speed to put tremendous pressure on the Ravens’ defensive line and goalkeeper.

SI (1-0-3), which picked up its first win of the season, controlled the midfield and used its dominance there to send a number of dangerous through balls to their hard-charging forwards — or in the case of the Wildcats’ first goal — their right back.

“The first half, we were fighting for our lives,” Schmidt said. She said the Wildcats ability, speed, precision and cohesion in the midfield had her team scrambling to keep up.

“It created chaos (in the midfield),” Schmidt said. “I have a bunch of midfielders who aren’t use to playing with each other. I graduated five of six midfielders from last year.”

It was only a matter of time before SI broke through and it happened just before halftime. The SI right wing made a long run down the sideline, before making a perfect diagonal pass right in step with Ava Couden, who had a clear path to the goal and made good on a blast from 20 yards out, rifling it into the top right corner of the net.

“It was coming,” Schmidt said.

Despite being outplayed in the opening half, the Ravens still had a chance to even the game before halftime. The Wildcats played a pass back to their goalkeeper, who showed a proclivity of playing with the ball at her feet. She juked Sequoia’s Teagan Tokheim early in the game, but she wasn’t fooled this time.

Tokheim pressured the goalkeeper and poked the ball away from her. as she scrambled to get back into position, a SI defender had closed down Tokheim, who took an awkward, off-balance shot that clanged off the post to preserve the Wildcats’ 1-0 lead at the break.

The second half saw a completely different Sequoia side, but the results were the same as the first half.

“We were so much better in the second half,” Schmidt said. “We just got more organized.”

It showed right away as the Ravens earned a free kick near midfield in the opening minute of the second half and Charlotte Dugoni put a perfect ball into the SI penalty box.

But Tokheim overran it by a touch, with the ball hitting her in the back of the leg.

While coming up empty, it set the tone for a Sequoia team that pretty well controlled the second half.

But the Ravens’ luck never changed. Three minutes after that free kick, left back Izzy Eaker jumped up into the attack and made a long run down the right sideline, before angling in on goal with a Wildcats defender draped on her.

Eaker, however, managed to get a step and let loose a shot that hit the far left post. The miss was magnified even more when on the ensuing clearance, SI’s Amanda Hughes received the ball on the right sideline near midfield and made a long run with a defender on her shoulder, beating the Sequoia goalkeeper short side to double the Wildcats’ lead in the 45th minute.

The Ravens kept up the pressure, however. Five minutes after SI’s second goal, Sequoia earned a free kick just outside the SI penalty box. This time, it was Dugoni who would be denied as she sent a perfectly weight shot over the defensive wall — and off the crossbar — leaving her clutching her head with her hands.

When Eaker made another long run on the flank and sent the ball to Rocco Piazza, whose ensuing shot pinged off the post, it was almost becoming comical. In the 71st minute, a Dugoni free kick was parried away by the goalkeeper and the ensuing shot off the rebound was saved.

Despite another loss to a good team and recording only one win in her team’s first five games, Schmidt isn’t panicking. She set up her schedule to get her team ready for Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division play and the CCS playoffs.

“[SI] is going to hang in the WCAL,” Schmidt said. “We’re building to something. I’m happy with where we’re going. We’re a good, solid team.”