A rough 10-minute stretch sunk any hopes of a comeback in Grays Harbor’ College’s 4-0 loss to Portland in a friendly match at Stewart Field in Aberdeen on Wednesday.
The Chokers didn’t generate much offense in the first half, only putting one shot on goal. But the Chokers stayed in the match by limiting Portland’s chances as Grays Harbor keeper Kristi Raffelson only had to make two saves in the first 45 minutes.
The game was deadlocked in a scoreless tie at halftime, but the combination of fatigue and a short bench made it difficult for the Chokers to keep pace.
The Panthers opened up the scoring in the 56th minute when Icela Garcia streaked down the right edge of the box and beat Raffelson low to the far post to give Portland the lead.
The Chokers kept it to a one-goal deficit until the 30th minute when the defense began to allow more chances against Portland’s unrelenting forwards.
Amelia Pua scored twice and Valerie Castro added another goal on a shot that sailed over Raffelson’s outstretched fingers and under the crossbar to cap off a three-goal run in approximately 10 minutes.
Grays Harbor midfielder Adrianna Huerta, white jersey, battles for the ball with Portland’s Chloe Alvarez in the first half of a friendly match against Portland on Wednesday at Stewart Field. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Grays Harbor head coach Alan Carloza said the final score isn’t an indication of how well his team played for the majority of the match.
“We held strong for 70 minutes and after that, most of the time, the ball was on our side of the field,” he said. “(Goals are) inevitable when the ball is hanging around your 18-yard box for 20 or 30 minutes.”
Carloza went on to say that fatigue played a factor in his defenders being a step slow on a few plays and wants to continue to build his players’ conditioning before the Chokers start their conference schedule.
Passing and offensive drills will also be on the docket at practice over the next week before the team plays again.
Carloza said some of his young defenders will have to do a better job moving the ball out of their end of the field and up to the midfielders.
“We have to get players comfortable with the ball on their feet. We have to get our back line comfortable with the ball and get girls comfortable in every position. To generate more offense, we have to start playing better from the back.”
The loss also gave the Chokers staff reason for optimism. Members of Grays Harbor’s coaching staff noted a more positive attitude on the team than last season and Carloza was particularity impressed by how some of the players that are new to the sport stepped into their roles.
“We have a couple of girls who are new to soccer who are just coming in and working hard. They’re being anchors defensively,” he said.
Dominique Marin is one of three players added to the roster who didn’t play organized soccer in high school. Marin spent most of her time on the backline and stayed on the field for the entirety of the match.
Carloza said the team will be in good place once his players have the stamina to play a complete match.
“We need to keep getting girls comfortable playing different positions. Having that short roster, it’s going to be key to have every girl ready to play 90 minutes.”
Portland 0 4 – 4
Grays Harbor 0 0 – 0
Top Players: Portland – Garcia (G, 56th minute), Pua (2 G, 63rd minute and 68th minute) Castro (G, 72nd minute)
Grays Harbor goalie Kristi Raffelson gets her hands on the ball before Portland’s Amelia Pua can get to the rebound in a friendly match against Portland on Wednesday at Stewart Field. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
