After a decisive win against the Carlmont Scots on Tuesday, the girls’ soccer team looked to continue their momentum against the top-seeded Burlingame Panthers on Thursday night.
M-A started with the ball but found themselves unable to gain any offensive traction after a Burlingame defender intercepted a Bears pass.
The Panthers put continual pressure on M-A’s defense, as sophomore goalkeeper Elise Koo was met with multiple shots on the goal. Defensively, senior Georgia Auerbach was a bright spot for the Bears, halting multiple Panther possessions.
An M-A foul led to a Burlingame corner kick, which the Panthers capitalized on as a header goal, giving them a 1-0 lead with just over 34 minutes left in the half.
M-A retaliated with a corner kick of their own by senior Dani Koo, but could not cash it in for a goal.
An interception by junior Brooke Fehrenbach jump-started the Bears’ fast break as the clock winded closer to the 25-minute mark.
A spectacular pass from senior Avery Galles to senior Camille Melcher quickly followed, and Melcher dealt a strong shot to the goal that narrowly missed, bouncing off the crossbar as a result. Melcher’s kick lent freshman Stella Hall a smooth tap-in, erasing the Bears’ deficit and tying the game.
M-A’s defense continued to fend off the Panthers, preventing them from scoring for the remainder of the half.
Fehrenbach credited the Bears’ smooth defense to keeping their defensive line higher and following all of their runners as Burlingame tried to play balls over the top. “It’s something we’ve struggled with this season,” she said.
The Bears kicked off the second half with numerous offensive possessions that threatened to take the lead but ultimately came up empty-handed.
A Panthers fast break sent a rocket towards Elise Koo who blocked it valiantly but had to exit with a concussion. This thrusted sophomore goalie Allie Schindler into action, who stepped up and made various saves to preserve the tie.
As the clock began to wind down, M-A sprinted into a last-second offensive to try and take the lead. A well-placed pass by Dani Koo set up senior Tatum Olsen for a header that was barely blocked by the Burlingame goalie, ending the game in a 1-1 tie.
After the game, Dani Koo said, “While we didn’t get the result we wanted, I think this game shows that while our record may not reflect it, we can hang with any team in the PAL.”
The team will return to the field tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 p.m. to take on the Woodside Wildcats.
