Holding off a Loss

It was the last game played on St. Joseph High soil for four senior starters - goalie Michaela Adam, defenders Julie Bissin and Jeanette Abeytia, and forward Kristen Fuerch.

And it nearly was a memorable one, as the Knights kept pace with the powerhouse Santa Ynez girls soccer squad for 74 minutes of Thursday afternoon's league contest before allowing two late goals to fall, 2-0.

"They all played with everything they had and left it on the field," said Knights coach Lori Newdoll-Kalin of her senior group. "To stay with them the whole way except the last five minutes was a feat in itself. One little mistake caused the first goal."

The Pirates finally broke the scoreless tie with six minutes left when junior midfielder Jana Balius finished off a crossing pass from senior teammate Riley Wathen.

The play developed after a Santa Ynez corner kick was broken up by the St. Joseph defense. Wathen settled the ball near the sideline still in the attack zone and kicked it back into the box. Balius sprinted to the free ball with no defender in sight and blasted a shot past Adam.

Two minutes after Balius' strike, Santa Ynez sealed it with senior forward Leann Sgobba's rocket shot from 25 yards out that got by a diving Adam.

"We didn't have a strong showing today for the most part. We allowed them to dictate pace of the game instead of playing at our pace," said Pirates coach Julie Estabrook. "They packed their defense, so what we've been successful doing wasn't working."

So at halftime Estabrook changed up her team's offensive strategy and told her players to settle the ball down, control it and go around the defense to the outside.

It worked.

Santa Ynez (9-1 in Los Padres League, 16-5 overall) has lost only one league game in the past three seasons - a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Cabrillo back on Jan. 25.

At halftime after a special ceremony for the four seniors and with the Knights still even, St. Joseph coach Ed Kalin told his players: "We can make history today if we go out there and stick a goal in."

That did not happen, but the Knights - who relied heavily on their defense of Bissin, Abeythia, sophomore Ashley Gallant, and freshman Shannon Conway - had a chance in the second half. Junior forward Maressa Martinez had the ball with no defender in front of her and the Pirates goalie out of net. But she could not get a shot off before the defense collapsed on her.

The Pirates, who will face Lompoc on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., kept possession of the ball for most of the game, but were not able to generate much of an offense until their two late strikes.

"It was kind of a frustrating game to watch," said Estabrook. "It's hard to play in a game like that, but it shows a lot determination and character on our part to struggle through and still be able to pull it out."

St. Joseph (0-7-4, 3-10-6) is still looking for its first league victory with only one road game remaining Feb. 10 against Santa Maria at 3:30 p.m.

Cabrillo 1, Morro Bay 0

MORRO BAY - Karissa Robertson took a pass from Katie McIntosh in the ninth minute and then scored the only goal of the game.

Cabrillo (6-1-3, 15-2-8) clinched a playoff spot. The Conquistadores are tied for second place in the Los Padres League with Nipomo.

Cabrillo goal keeper Megan Rhea earned her 11th shutout this season by making five saves.

Boys Soccer

Santa Maria 9, Nipomo 0

NIPOMO - The high-powered Saints tallied their eighth shutout in the Los Padres League with a dominant showing at Nipomo High.

Santa Maria (9-1, 15-2) received two goals apiece from Jose Coracero, Edgar Miranda and Eric Navarro. Scoring single goals were: Edwigues Aguilar, Efrain Baez, Jose Villalba, and Mayolo Heredia.

The Saints, who were up 4-0 at the break, will host Cabrillo on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. They clinched a playoff spot Thursday and stayed in a first-place tie with Santa Ynez.

Cabrillo 2, Morro Bay 1

VANDENBERG VILLAGE - Morro Bay tied the game in the 37th minute, and then Mikey Seelandt answered in the 38th with the game winner.

Nick Osburg gave Seelandt the pass he scored his game winner on. Seelandt scored an unassisted goal in the fourth minute.

Cabrillo (6-3-1, 8-10-2) is tied for third place - and the league's last guaranteed playoff spot - with Lompoc. The Lompoc Valley rivals tied in their first meeting.

Santa Ynez 5, St. Joseph 0

SANTA YNEZ - The Pirates dropped the Knights to 0-10-1 in league games.

Midfielders Andy Littlefield and Joe Robles had strong games for St. Joseph, and goal keeper Jordan Wegemer made 10 saves.

JV Boys Soccer

Pioneer Valley 3, Lompoc 1

LOMPOC - The Panthers erased a 1-0 halftime deficit with three second-half strikes to rally past the Braves.

Ramon Lopez netted two goals and Omar Zaragoza scored the game-tying goal for Pioneer Valley (7-4-1, 10-8-2).

Up next, the Panthers will play at St. Joseph on Tuesday and then close out the season with a Thursday home game against Nipomo.

Sports Writer Kenny Cress contributed to this story.

February 4, 2005