Tesoro's Soccer Team Hits the Road, the Road Hits Back in 3-1 Defeat

Tesoro girls soccer team, which lost its home-field advantage for Thursday's match because it used a "non-CIF playoff sanctioned" ball in its last playoff home match, also lost its Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinal, 3-1, to host Flintridge Sacred Heart at Occidental College.

Cailey Starck scored in the 48th minute for the Titans to tie the score at 1-1, but the Tologs came right back with a goal in the 51st minute by Breeana Koemans that proved to be the game winner.

“This is so amazing,” said an ecstatic Koemans after the game.  “Last year we lost in the finals, so we’re going to take advantage and win it all this year.”

Flintridge Sacred Heart goalkeeper Lindsey Espe was tested in the eighth minute when Tesoro’s Jamie Turchi beat a defender and fired a shot from the top of the penalty box that Espe knocked out of bounds with a diving effort.

Flintridge Sacred Heart jumped ahead in the 24th minute when a Titan defender tried to clear an attack, but the ball bounced off a Tologs midfielder back behind the Titan defensive line.  Katie Johnson ran past Tesoro’s sweeper and, as goalkeeper Ashley Penton advanced, Johnson flicked the ball with the outside of her right foot into the goal.

“We knew they had a dangerous center forward [Johnson] and they did a good job of running the offense through her,” Tesoro coach Nick Schofield said.

Tesoro struggled to get any shots in the remainder of the half, but in stoppage time Hanna Loppicolo drew a foul just outside the Tologs’ penalty box.  Torey Markowitz took the free kick and sent the ball just inches high of the crossbar.

Tesoro trailed 1-0 at halftime, but, according to Schofield, made adjustments to get the midfielders more involved in the offensive attack.  In the 48th minute it paid off.

Jessica White stole the ball from a Flintridge Sacred Heart midfielder to create a quick counterattack.  White passed down the sideline to Loppicolo, who beat a defender and crossed the ball into the penalty box.  Starck ran onto the ball and cracked a shot past Espe to tie the score.

Despite the momentum shift, Flintridge Sacred Heart maintained its aggressive play.  Johnson received the ball at midfield and faced two oncoming defenders when she made a slick heal pass to Alyssa Conti.  Conti made a through pass behind Tesoro’s defensive line and Koemans raced forward to tap the ball past Penton.

“I wasn’t in position to take a real shot so I just toe-poked it and it went in,” said Koemans.  “It was huge because they had the momentum and we stole it right back.”

Flintridge Sacred Heart continue to control the game’s tempo following Koemans’ go-ahead goal and in the 65th minute forced a cornerkick from the Titan defense.  Lauren Torres’ cross rattled around in the crowded penalty box before squirting out to Sarah Teegarden who kicked a low shot into the right corner of the net.

“When you score an equalizer and then go down again, it’s demoralizing,” said Schofield.

Facing a 3-1 deficit, Tesoro quickly tried to get something going offensively, but Flintridge Sacred Heart increased its numbers on defense to stonewall the Titans.  Tempers flared in the closing minutes and Tologs Kayla Mills received a yellow card along with Tesoro’s Sofi Sidner.

Yellow cards aside, the game’s underlying controversy was its location.  The Titans, who were runners-up in the Sea View League, had originally been slated for a home matchup but were penalized for failing to provide a CIF-sanctioned soccer ball in their previous home playoff game.

“I thought it was a harsh penalty, but those are the rules,” Schofield said.  “We looked for a sanctioned ball the day before, but only had last year’s approved ball.  The opposing coach was OK with it, but the referees called us out on it.  I don’t think it [Thursday's location] had an effect on the game.  They just beat us.”

Tesoro, which saw its 14-game unbeaten streak ended, finished 15-3-6.

Third-seeded Flintridge Sacred Heart, champions of the Mission League, advance to the semifinals on Tuesday, when they will play at top-seeded Esperanza, a 1-0 winner over Mission Viejo in another quarterfinal.