Daniel Cromar
It’s amazing how fast a swagger can turn into a slouch.
In one game, the Pierce women’s soccer team (15-2-4) went from feeling on top of the world to having to settle for a scoreless tie against the Mission Eagles (5-12-2).
“We went from winning conference really easily to maybe not making the playoffs,” said Head Coach Adolfo Perez. “There are 52 programs and only 16 make it, and it’s so close. There’s really no margin for error. The top teams are top teams.”
At the time of this article, the Brahmas were ranked 7th in the Southern Region, and maintained a slim lead over Bakersfield in the Western State Conference. As a point of comparison, Mission is 29th in the region, well out of playoff contention, which, according to Perez, probably helped them keep the Brahmas quiet.
“I (said before the game), this is a very dangerous team, because they’re playing for nothing,” he said. “Those teams are very, very dangerous.”
Mission sure didn’t look dangerous. Then again, neither did the Brahmas. Both teams had several chances to score at least one goal, and both teams failed every time.
Over the course of the game, Pierce had two would-be goals called back because of offsides, the first of those coming off of and early free kick from just outside the penalty box early in the first half.
It didn’t get any better from there.
At the end of the first half, the Brahmas walked off the field having missed several scoring opportunities, and were visibly frustrated.
No one, however, was more frustrated than Perez.
“It’s frustrating. It’s really frustrating,” he said at halftime. “We took this game really lightly, and I told them not to, and if we lose or tie, we’re in trouble.”
The second half started out feeling a lot like the first half, with nothing really changing, at least not in the Brahmas favor. Early in the half, Kelsey Morquecho received a yellow card coming onto the field without permission. Perez was upset by this, claiming that he called for a substitution. His complaints would eventually earn him his own yellow.
The rest of the half played out just like the rest of the game, with the Brahmas attacking over and over again and missing opportunities over and over again. Finally, after another yellow card (this one for Stephanie Cubias) and a late shot off the crossbar that just missed giving the Brahmas the victory, the game ended in a scoreless tie.
Looking at the Pierce bench, you would have thought that they’d just been on the receiving end of a thrashing like the one they gave Valley just a week ago.
The Eagles took the tie a little differently, as they celebrated on their side of the field.Mission Head Coach Emanuel Martins, however, downplayed the moral victory.
“It’s just like any other game,” he said. “It’s just like we tied anyone else in the conference.”
What does this all mean for the Brahmas? It means they have a lot of winning to do, and to do it, they’re going to have to overcome late season fatigue, late season frustration, and most importantly, late season injuries.
Several Brahmas have suffered injuries, including midfielder Denise Kochheim, who did not play on Tuesday and will miss about a week with an ankle injury, forward Yasmin Yahoum, who is playing on a hurt knee, and midfielder Dilhani Perera, who is playing with knee and shin injuries.
Perez remarked that Perera could be out for the year, but when asked about her status, Perera simply replied “No, I’m fine.”
The Brahmas will play a crucial game in Bakersfield on Friday, then will return home for their last two games of the season.