On Wednesday, February 14, the Coronado Islander girls soccer team took on La Costa Canyon (LCC) Mavericks in the first round of Div. 1 CIF playoffs. The Islanders went into the game having an overall record of 5-10-1 and LCC had a record of 6-9-1. Being relatively close in matchup, this was bound to be a good game. With that being said, the Islanders defeated LCC 2-0 thus moving on to the second round of playoffs.
As to be expected in a CIF playoff, the game was played with a lot of aggression on each side. This caused many mistakes but also offered possibilities for each team to capitalize in a positive way. As the ball was played a great deal on the Islanders’ side in the first half, goalie Sydney Flanagan did not flinch when it came time for her to make plays. She had countless saves throughout the game, and many in crucial moments. Flanagan had to have her best night in order to beat LCC and she did just that, shutting down their offense and allowing zero goals for the night.
Going into the second half, the score was stuck at 0-0. However, within minutes, freshman Breck Dunn changed that. Dunn scored the first goal of the game for the Islanders which gave them momentum. Her quick ability to weave between defenders worked and put the Islanders ahead.
Now up 1-0, the Islanders took control. They kept pressure on LCC and stayed in possession of the ball, looking for a way to extend the lead. When the Islanders got an opportunity for a throw-in from close to the corner of the field, Lindsey Balsley launched the ball into the box towards the goalie. The goalie struggled to gain possession and she deflected it off her body. Sydney Dunn saw that and attacked the ball, sending it into the net, extending that lead to 2-0 with around 12 minutes left to play.
All the Islanders needed to do was keep possession and burn out the clock for the remainder of the game. They did just that and pulled off the win 2-0.
Now moving on to the second round of playoffs; the Islanders will be facing off against Carlsbad High School at Carlsbad, at 5pm on Saturday, February 17.
Updated Feb. 19, 2024. The Islanders beat the Carlsbad Lancers 4-3 on Feb. 17.
