For the Coronado Islanders Girls Soccer team, Tuesday night’s match vs. the Dons of Cathedral Catholic was a huge, important game of play this season. In hosting the Dons, the Islanders took on the No.1 ranked team in California, and the No.6 ranked team in the United States.
And with a win, the Islanders vaulted themselves into 2nd place in the City Western League Standings and trail Point Loma by half a game. So in games and matches with rankings and importance like this, confidence is vital, something head coach Mike Costaglio preached to his players.
“Going into these matches vs. Cathedral, who is an Open Division team, we need to be playing with confidence. We can’t make the game or our opponent bigger than they are,” said Costaglio.
The two teams were extremely evenly matched for the first 15 minutes of Tuesday’s game. Defensively the Islanders continued to prove to be one of the finest defending teams in San Diego county as Ava Worthy, Lana Allari-Smith, Zoe Searles, and Giana Quijano kept the Don’s at bay with several fine clearances and steals in the opening minutes.
However, in the 16th minute, the Dons snuck in the opening goal to give themselves the 1-0 advantage. The Islanders had a few opportunities to equalize in the first half, but their early offensive troubles offensively stemmed from the attack seeming to try to do too much.
On several occasions, either Katelyn McGrath, Riley McGrath, Xiomara McKenna, or Samantha Christie found themselves in a promising spot in attack. But each time, they seemed to be just off on their passes or elected to try to flick a ball to a teammate when they maybe should have held on to their initial touch. It felt and looked as if the Islanders were a touch out of sync, and as a result, they found themselves trailing 1-0 at the half.
Watch the game on YouTube thanks to GK Sports Live
But when the Islanders returned to the pitch for the second half, one could quickly tell that whatever first-half struggles existed would not carry over in the second.
In the opening minutes, the Islanders did a better job of controlling the tempo of the game, their passing and possessions crisper. Then in the 45th minute, the refined Islanders offensive struck.
Thanks to a long outlet pass from Ava Worthy to Riley McGrath, the Islanders had a two on three. Riley McGrath flicked the ball ahead to Katelyn McGrath, who laced it into the back of the net and equalized the game at 1-1.
The Islander goal tied the match and served as a massive turning point. With the game tied again, the teams returned to a deadlock and even played the game. But that deadlock would again soon be broken.
In the 70th first minute following a cleared corner, the Islanders went on counter-attack as Emily Kuite found Ella Oden in space down the right-wing.
Oden took the pass all the way down to the corner before laying in a low running cross that found the crashing right foot of Christie. The senior made it to the back of the net to give the Islanders the 2-1 lead with just 10 minutes to play.
And the lady Islanders were not done yet. Just 45 seconds later, Oden would again find herself with possession of the ball down the right-wing and, just as she had done last time, took the ball down the right sideline before crossing the ball into the box.
The cross went to Islander Katelyn McGrath, who hammered it home to give her a second goal on the night and, more importantly, Coronado the 3-1 lead which sent the Islander faithful into a frenzy.
The Islanders backline was tasked to hold the lead for the final eight minutes and stoppage time, a task they were more than ready for. While conceding one late goal, the Islanders backline held the game and secured the 3-2 win over California’s No.1 Ranked team.
The Islanders now sit at 9-2-3 and 3-1 in City Western league play and have quickly become one of the county’s best teams, and it’s easy to see why. Coronado offensively possesses a goal differential of +27 while averaging about 2.7 goals per game. A deadly combo of offensive efficiency and defensive domination, and with the win over the Dons the Islanders showed that they not only can beat top programs in the state, but that they belong in that conversation as well.
The Islanders will return to action tonight, January 27 at 6p at home vs. OLP in what will also be Senior Night where eight Islanders will be honored.
