Coronado Islander Girls Soccer Draws vs. Mission Bay

It was a lighter week for the Islander girls soccer team, but it remained important. As head coach, Mike Costaglio said these last few games would be crucial with the teams inching closer and closer to CIF Playoffs. “We’ve still got some things to fine-tune and some bad habits we still need to get rid of.” 

In the Islanders’ only match of the week, they took the short trip across the bridge to battle Mission Bay High School. In the two teams’ previous meeting, the Islanders easily bested Mission Bay with a 4-0 trouncing at home. But being on the road, it was clear early on that the Islanders would be in for a bit more of a battle this time around. 

In the early minutes of Tuesday night’s match, it was a game easily controlled by Mission Bay. In the first 10 minutes, the Buccaneers had already tallied three shots, one of which resulted in a goal giving Mission Bay the early 1-0 advantage. 

While the 1-0 early deficit was not the ideal start the Islanders were looking for, it did appear to wake up the Islanders and help them return to their standard of play. Following the goal, the Islanders quickly flipped the script and tempo of the game back in their favor, thanks in large part due to the aggressive play in the midfield from Emily Kuite and Samantha Christie as the duo did a fine job of distributing balls into strong attacking positions. 

With the aggression levels turned back up, the Islanders cashed in during the 16th minute. After a great run by Christie to draw defenders, she passed to Riley McGrath, who found Ella Oden, who then fired in a low liner into the bottom left of the net to level the game at 1-1. 

With the goal, it was not just the Islanders’ offense that seemed to gain confidence, but their defense seemed to as well. After allowing the opening goal, the Islanders’ backline settled down nicely for the rest of the first half. 

Ava Worthy had a pair of steals, Giana Quijano had a steal along with a fantastic clearance in the 21st minute on a potentially dangerous through ball, and Lana Allari-Smith continued her dominant season with two more steals on the night. 

With all the wheels on the Islander train now spinning, it looked like the Islanders were poised to grab the lead soon. In the 25th minute, the Islanders put together another high-class attack, and Kuite distributed the ball down the right-wing to Ella Oden. The senior blew by Mission Bay’s right-wing defender and sent in a low running cross that found the right foot of Christie, who hammered it into the back of the net to give the Islanders the 2-1 lead. 

The Islanders had the opportunity to extend their lead just before the end of the half as Katelyn McGrath had a one on one with the keeper in the 36th minute. But her shot on goal was saved to keep the game at 2-1, heading into the half. 

The Islanders continued their relentless attack of the Mission Bay goal out of the half. In the 43rd, 46th, and 48th minute, Coronado fired off shots on goal, two from McGrath and one from Xiomara McKenna. However, despite the shots, none would find the back of the net, all having the feeling of real missed opportunities and chances to put Mission Bay away. 

However, while the early second half shots wouldn’t yield, Coronado stayed persistent. In the 61st first minute, McKenna made a great run down the far sideline and, after creating space, sent a cross into the box where the ball found Oden. But before Oden could take the shot, she was taken down in the box, and the Islanders were awarded a PK. 

Zoe Searles took the PK, and the senior had ice in her veins as she laced the ball past the keeper into the bottom left on the net to give Coronado a 3-1 lead with just under 20 minutes to play. 

But on this night, Mission Bay refused to go away. Shortly after, the Islanders netted a PK of their own, and so did Mission Bay. They, like Coronado, also converted and made things a much tighter 3-2 match in the 67th minute. In many ways, the final 10 minutes mirrored the first 10 minutes of the game as Mission Bay again dominated possession and tempo and found yet another goal right before the final horn in the 79th minute, tying the game at 3-3. 

The Islanders would have one final shot on goal from Christie, but Mission Bay saved it and ended the game at a 3-3 tie. 

With the tie, the Lady Islanders now sit with a record of 9-2-5 with just two games left in the regular season, one today vs. Point Loma at 6 pm and the next on Feb 10 vs. Cathedral Catholic before the start of CIF Playoffs. According to Maxpreps, the Islanders are the projected two seed in Division II.