The Bakersfield College Women's Soccer team (3-1-2) worked hard for a tie against Cabrillo College (1-3-2) on the road Friday, and it was a roller-coaster ride til' the final whilstle.
"Obviously it's disappointing to settle for a tie when you were up 2-0, but i'm incredibly proud that they played through that," Coach Scott Dameron said, "And…what a finish! It was a game where you learn something about yourself. I'm just thrilled with their heart."
BC got on the board first with seconds remaining in the first half following a corner kick that pinballed around in front of the goal.
"It felt like that ball bounced around forever, but it was really about 20 seconds. No one could knock it in, and no one could clear it. Finally, Odalys Espinoza knocked it in from the top of the box to make it 1-0. And then in the next instant, the ref blew the whistle to end the half," Dameron said.
Ten minutes into the second half, Espinoza scored on a Madison Jordan corner kick to give the Renegades a 2-0 lead.
Over the next 20 minutes, Cabrillo had several opportunities to score and did so on two balls that seemed to catch the favor of the weather, physics, gravity, and just plain old luck.
"Those were goals that you don't see every day," Dameron said.
But the would-be dagger came when Cabrillo scored on a cross pass one minute into stoppage time to take a 3-2 lead.
"We knew we were in stoppage, and the referree could blow the whistle at any moment. That urgency was there," Dameron said.
Amelia Lopez got the ball at the corner of the box and drilled an on-frame beauty to tie the game at three.
"I've had goals scored on the whistle before, but never to end both halves," Dameron said, "and what speaks volumes is that these women played through...without exaggeration...to the very last whistle. They played the entire game."
The goal was Lopez's eighth of the season, placing her among the top ten goal scorers in the state, and she's scored a goal in five of BC's six games this season.
Espinoza's two goals raise her season total to five.
BC plays next at Hartnell on Saturday, September 17th at 12p.