GIRLS SOCCER: Prospect’s Winless Streak Continues in Loss to Del Mar

The Score: Del Mar 2, Prospect 1

The Star: Heidy Robledo put Prospect on top early, scoring the Panthers’ only goal in the ninth minute of the first half.  Although her goal would not be enough, she proved that the Panthers could score on Del Mar’s stalwart defense.           

The Turning Point: Two goals by Rachel Schauer in under five minutes in the first half would give Del Mar the lead and put it on top for good. 

The Quote: “With as good of a team as [the Dons] are, you let them play their game plan over our game plan, and we are going to lose that game.” —Prospect head coach Jason Potmesil

What’s Next?:  Prospect squares off against Pioneer at home Thursday at 3:15 p.m.

Bottom Line: Despite finding a way to get on the scoreboard first, Prospect could not hold onto the lead, giving up two goals in the first half to Del Mar’s explosive offense. The Panthers put up an excellent fight against the No. 1 team in the Blossom Valley Athletic League but failed to stick to their game plan for a full 80 minutes in a disappointing loss.       

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The Prospect High girls soccer team went toe-to-toe against undefeated Del Mar High on Tuesday afternoon in Saratoga but fell short in a hard-fought 2-1 loss.

Although Prospect (4-3-2, 1-2-2) entered this match winless in its previous three games, the unblemished Del Mar Dons (11-0, 5-0 in BVAL Santa Teresa division play) hardly felt like the Goliath to the Panthers’ David.  

“Prospect always comes out to play us,” said Del Mar’s head coach Ken Padia. “They always step up and play us hard.”

Del Mar opened the match a little sloppy, missing on several passes and allowing possession to constantly change hands. Prospect came out sporting an in-your-face defense, forcing the Dons to make these mistakes and, in turn, providing their forwards with several early opportunities.

The Panthers would take advantage of one of these early chances in the ninth minute on goal that stemmed from a throw-in deep in Del Mar’s zone.  

The short throw-in quickly turned into a pass that found Prospect’s Heidy Robledo at the top of the box, who nimbly dribbled the ball and then fired a shot that curled into the top right corner of the goal. The early lead sent thoughts of a possible upset throughout the home crowd, but both teams knew that this game was far from over.

“They played us really even in the first half,” said Padia.  “It was a 50/50 game.”

As the game progressed, the Dons began to pass better, which in turn ignited their always-dangerous offense. 

In the 24th minute, a superbly laced pass by Del Mar senior Sulma Plancarte from down the left line located captain Olivia Hadidan in the box. But with defenders rapidly closing in, Hadidian made a wise decision to unload the ball to Del Mar’s other captain, Rachel Schauer, who quickly unleashed a perfectly placed shot that found the top-left corner of the net.  

“We weren’t scoring at first, because we weren’t passing,” said Schauer. “Once our centers worked together, then we were able to control it and work as a team.”

Hadidian and Schauer would connect again for a goal four minutes later, making the previous thoughts of an upset a distant memory.   

An illegal tackle about 30 yards out provided Del Mar with a free kick, in which the Dons’ duo would take complete advantage. On the free kick, Hadidian zeroed in on a wide open Schauer at the top of the box, who didn’t waste any time, taking a shot that found the exact same spot as her first goal.

Schauer’s second goal would prove to be the game-winner once all was said and done. 

While Prospect definitely played their hearts out in this one, its inability to stick to its game plan proved to be its downfall.

“I felt that if we would have played our style, it would have been a lot better,” said Prospect forward Erin Buchner. “I think they are beatable. We know what their weaknesses are, but we just didn’t take advantage of them. I think we could have played better.”

When asked to describe his team’s performance in one word, Prospect head coach Jason Potmesil responded with “tough.”

“We didn’t play great, but we played tough.”

Tough was exactly what this loss was for Prospect, and the rematch with Del Mar on Feb. 10 could play out very differently.