San Marcos – A nail-biting rematch between the Palomar Comets and the Miramar Jets ended in a one-goal differential in favor of the visitors.
Last month, these teams met on Miramar’s turf. The Jets blanked the Comets 3-0 in that matchup, so the Palomar women were out for revenge. Coming off a 5-0 away win and sporting an impressive 3-1 conference record at home, momentum favored the Comets.
Palomar and Miramar have a very similar play style. When asked how you prepare for such a match up Head Coach Gregg Cacippo said, “They like to split teams defensively, so all week in practice we worked on not getting split and funneling them inside. This keeps it very compact and makes it difficult for them to play.”
The Jets offense got off to a quick start, putting up three shots on goal and two corner kicks within the opening 15 minutes. But impressive saves from Palomar goalkeeper Gianna Belasco kept the Jets off the scoreboard.
Things started to click for Palomar’s defense and the Jets’ offensive pressure diminished. On the offensive side the Comets came out with a flurry of shots, but Miramar’s goalkeeper was perfectly positioned to block each attempt.
At the 43rd minute an unfortunate own goal occurred when a hard kick from Jets forward Ariana Turner ricocheted off the leg of a Palomar defender and into their net. And despite the relentless pressure of the Palomar attackers, the Jets did not yield a goal in the first half. The Comets trailed the Jets 0-1 going into halftime.
During halftime, fans and supporters remarked on the game. “The defensive looked pretty good. But when it comes to attacking, I think when they see the opening they should take the shot as soon as possible, or if they see someone open they should pass right away. There were a lot of openings,” said Derek who came to support a friend on the team.
Although they were down by a goal, the pace of the game favored the Comets who led in both shots on goal and possession time. However, only five minutes into the second half another own goal by Palomar put them down 0-2.
The Palomar women refused to quit and shifted back into their first half strategy of persistently firing shots in at the opposing goalkeeper. Finally, their efforts paid off. In the 60th minute. A corner kick from Maddie Spielman found Ashley Clark in the center of the penalty area and a perfectly executed header from Clark found itself in the right corner of the goal before the Jets goalie had time to react.
Following this exciting set piece from the Comets it appeared a momentum shift was taking place, but it was not to be. Palomar continued to bombard Miramar with shots without success, all the while the Comets’ defense stymied the Jets’ attempts to extend their lead. In spite of their effort, the Comets lost the game 1-2.
Ashley Clark’s goal put her atop the conference leaderboard in goals scored and overall points scored. She came into the game tied in both categories with Miramar’s forward Jaedyn Thibedeau, but now Clark has pulled ahead of the pack. Clark is not feeling lonely at the top though, crediting her teammates with her impressive stats this season.
“There were a lot of positives to take away from this. We worked really hard over the week on the defensive side, and it showed on the field. We just couldn’t put our chances away,” Clark said.
“Compared to the last time, we played them a lot better offensively and defensively. We were on their side for most of the game, but I guess luck was just not on our side,” Palomar defender Brisa Rojas said.
Coach Cacioppo has been head coach of the Comets women’s soccer team for three seasons and was proud of how hard the women fought today. “We showed resiliency after going down two nothing and then getting that goal back got us into a more manageable situation. We are a resilient group. The team fights hard and always competes. Our style showed itself today, but it just didn’t go our way,” Coach Cacioppo said.
The Palomar Comets held their heads high after the loss, and always strive to improve as they showed in this hard-fought rematch against Miramar. The loss moves Palomar Comets to 5-5 in their conference, and they look to break back into the win column when they take on Cuyamaca on Tuesday Oct 22 here at Palomar College.
For schedule information click here.
And to follow Ashley Clark’s battle to remain atop the stats charts in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference click the link here.
