Skyline women’s soccer team fell short in a 2-1 loss to Cañada Oct. 5 thanks to a pair of late goals by the Colts.

The Trojans could not hold a 1-0 halftime lead. Sophomore Susanna Chase scored on a free kick in the 40th minute as she kicked the ball high and to the right into the corner of the net.

“It was about 35-40 yards out, and it was the first time we were able to play with the wind at our back,” said Skyline women’s head coach Kevin Corsiglia. “She was able to hit a nice low ball that was rising as it was heading towards the goal, and she put it in the right hand corner. It was a nice shot.”

The second half was a different story, however, as the Colts’ tough defense stifled the Trojans and helped themselves get back in the game, making it tough for Skyline to penetrate down the field.

Cañada played a bunker type defense where the two opposing offensive forwards would have to beat five players to get past to the goal. According to Corsiglia, the way to defeat that type of defense is to play over the top and to take shots from the outside.

In the second half, Skyline had to play against the wind. As they tried to pass the ball downfield, it did not go as far as they would have liked and would get sent back in against the defense.

“Our biggest problem was that we were not playing balls on the ground,” Corsiglia said. “We weren’t using our midfield to move the ball to our forwards. We were constantly having our defenders clear balls out to our forwards and all of a sudden, they were clearing balls into a 5-2 situation–five defenders against our two forwards. Odds are you are going to lose that ball and its going to be tough and then the ball is going to be sent right back into your defenders.”

Corsiglia said that the ball was getting past Skyline’s midfield, and consequently, they were not able to effectively use the space in between the forwards and the midfielders to move the ball up the field, so that it was not a “constant back-and-forth situation.”

Nevertheless, the Trojan defense made Cañada earn their points. “I think they worked pretty hard for those goals,” Corsiglia said.

During the second half, Trojan goalkeeper Rocio Samayoa was injured. The minor sprain to her right ankle and a bruised nerve limited her mobility a little bit with the amount of pressure Cañada was putting on Skyline’s defense. They found it tough to stop the shots the Colts were making.

Late in the half, Skyline had a chance to tie the game with another free kick by Chase. This shot was about 25 yards out, but the ball sailed high and the final whistle blew to end the game.

“That was our last chance really,” Corsiglia said. “There is nobody I would rather have take that free kick then Susanna. She stepped up, and I know she wasn’t trying to put it over. She was trying to put it on the frame of the goal but hit it a little high.”