Carden Hall rallies

Bryce Alderton

The Carden Hall B girls fifth- and sixth-grade soccer team found

itself at a crossroads early in the second half of its Silver

division contest against Mariners B to conclude pool ‘A’ play in the

Daily Pilot Cup at Costa Mesa High.

Carden Hall Coach Tim Ward, not particularly liking where the game

seemed headed, decided to make a move with his team trailing, 1-0.

Risk turned into reward as Carden Hall scored the game’s final two

goals and held on for a 2-1 victory.

Five minutes into the second 25-minute half, Ward motioned for his

players to move further up field in hopes of generating more offense.

Sasha Chebil and Brynne McCord responded with goals two minutes

apart for Carden Hall and the defense muffled Mariners’ final three

shots.

“We were either going to lose by a lot or get back into the game,”

Ward said. “The girls got their hearts into it. They were hard-fought

goals against Mariners, which is an excellent team.”

Katie Noblett gave Mariners a 1-0 lead 11 minutes into the

contest. Noblett, positioned near the right side of the 6-yard box,

took control off a rebound following a shot by teammate Christina

Young. Noblett alertly directed a shot that rattled off the left post

and into the goal.

Carden Hall missed a golden chance to tie minutes later as Andie

Ward took possession following a throw-in and dribbled near the

sideline.

But Mariner defender Ani Harbottle, who halted several scoring

chances, shifted over and blocked Ward’s shot attempt.

Carden Hall defender Nicole Zielinski returned the favor later in

the half on a Mariners’ two-one-one break involving midfielder

Alexandra Farah. Carden Hall defender Emily Mitchell knocked the ball

away from an attacker on a slide tackle with two minutes remaining in

the first half.

Emily Browne made six saves in goal for Carden Hall in the first

half before giving way to Caroline Williamson for the final 25

minutes.

Both teams rattled off a handful of shots during the first 10

minutes of the second half before Carden Hall’s shift.

In the 35th minute, Danielle Healy knocked down a clearing shot

near midfield and sent in a through ball that idled near the top of

the 18-yard box. Mariners’ goalkeeper Sydney Clayton raced toward the

ball, but Chebil got there first and curled a shot into the net for

the tying goal.

McCord scored the game-winner two minutes later. She took control

near midfield and sped through two defenders before firing high into

the net from 10 yards out.

McCord raised both hands in celebration as she raced back toward

Carden Hall’s side.

Mariners kept the pressure on until the end.

Midfielder Maddie Sheppard knocked down two attempted clearing

shots while a Mariners’ corner kick rolled through the 18-yard box

without a foot touching the ball.

In the final minute, Harbottle fed the speedy Farah on a break.

Farah got off a rolling shot, but Williamson stepped up to make her

fourth save of the half.

McCord said she and teammates talked more on the field in the

second half, which aided in the comeback.

“We were communicating and passing more,” McCord said. “People

were calling if they were open on a throw-in or for a pass.”

In addition to Farah and Noblett, Mariners was boosted on the

front lines by Robin Young while sweeper Amber Eary tallied a steal.

Guadalupe Martinez also contributed on defense, booting loose balls

away from Carden Hall pursuers. Mariners tallied 11 shots to Carden’s

nine.

Both teams finished pool play 1-1, though Mariners, by virtue of

its 1-0 shutout against Kaiser Wednesday, placed second with nine

points in the three-team pool to Kaiser, which amassed 10 points.

Carden Hall finished third with eight points.

Teams earn six points for a win with one point for each goal

scored up to a maximum three goals per team per game. One point is

awarded for a shutout.

Mariners faces Eastbluff in a quarterfinal at 1 p.m. Saturday at

the Farm Complex No. 2 field while Carden Hall faces Victoria at 4

p.m. today at Costa Mesa High.