From LBPOSTSports.com: “[After the game, I told my team] that it stings more because they worked so hard to get it back into their hands. If the game ended 2-0, they’d be sad walking off the field, but they worked and pushed so hard to get back into the game that it makes it hurt worse,” said Poly’s head coach, Teri Collins after a 3-2 double overtime loss to Santa Margarita that adds a new chapter to the term “heartbreaking.” Poly had gone down by two in the first half before battling back in, scoring two goals in the final ten minutes, only to fall in the final minutes of the second extra-time period.
The ‘Rabbits got their chances early, but kept missing a little wide to the right—a Sam Shier pass to Jocelyn Reist went that way, a shot by Allison Whalen after she came around the wing did, and two quality shots by Jazmine Rhodes drifted off to the right as well. Throw in a well-placed free kick that dinged off the crossbar, and it’s easy to see how a team might get frustrated when they still found themselves losing in the 36th minute, after Santa Margarita’s Leigh Edwards scored off a corner kick that Poly couldn’t clear. Poly continued to get quality looks early in the second half, but the sport of soccer demonstrated to the Poly sideline that ‘the beautiful game’ can be a cruel mistress, as well. In the 54th minute, the ball popped up off the turf and struck defender Keyana Thompson-Shaw’s hand—because she was in her own goal box, that meant a penalty kick for Santa Margarita, which Ashley Kotero drilled into the right pocket of the net. For the next twenty minutes, Poly continued to press as the Eagles collapsed defensively and tried to limit Poly’s quality chances.
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