On Friday night, Girls’ Varsity Soccer lost to Bishop O’Dowd 9-0.
“I mean, we’re pretty beat up physically in terms of injuries and illnesses. So I told the girls I was proud of their effort and energy. I mean, [6-0] down at halftime, so it was tough for them to come out in the second half, but they came out and they gave their all,” Coach Dan Chubbock said.
The Highlanders allowed six goals in the first half, followed by three in the following 40 minutes of play. and
In the early parts of the game, Piedmont faced a passive Bishop O’Dowd offense, who seemed to be playing keep away deep in their own territory. Minutes later, the Dragons quickly drove the ball down the field and scored to raise the lead to two goals.
For the majority of the match O’dowd focused on minimal dribbling and passing the ball up in the air to each other as much as possible. The Highlanders had a hard time defending this offensive scheme.
When the Highlanders did execute on offense, they were derailed by offsides fouls and the Dragons’ swarming defenders.
Multiple of Piedmont’s athletes were out of the game due to injury and illness.
“We get those girls that are battling sicknesses [back, healthy] on Monday, and then hopefully we come back stronger next week, and we get ourselves a couple of wins. I mean the confidence is still there, the girls aren’t down on themselves,” Coach Chubbock said.
The team is still optimistic about a playoff berth despite recent challenges
“We know we’re a good team, we know we’re a good group,” said Coach Chubbock.
The Highlanders (2-3-1) are ranked fifth in the WACC Foothill league and have five regular season games left. They will travel to Berkeley to play on Friday, the 31st.
