ASC San Diego’s Second-Half Rally Not Enough for Comeback Win
By MaryBeth Zmuda/ASC San Diego
ASC San Diego played its last home match of the 2021 NPSL summer season on Monday night. The result was not what they were hoping for but San Diego’s team is still pressing hard for a spot in the postseason play. With only one match left in the regular season there isn’t any room for error.
ASC had a tough go as they lost to FC Golden State 5-2 on their home pitch at Mission Bay Stadium in their second to last match of the regular season. This summer’s schedule has been hectic for teams and ASC has felt some of this added pressure. Having played three matches in a six-day timeframe doesn’t lend itself to much time for recovery or training and can definitely wear players down.
The home squad started off looking like they could possibly be dominant in this match, having a couple of shots on goal early but weren’t able to produce as the half went on. One early opportunity came in the sixth minute when ASC was fouled just outside the box giving a free kick to captain Jeroen Meefout. Unfortunately, the shot was too high and went over the net. The only other real scoring opportunity came in the 44th minute. Midfielder Jan Krisjansson attempted a long shot from the 30-yard line that got a similar result as the first one and cruised over the net.
In between ASC’s two scoring opportunities in the first half the opposition managed three goals in relatively quick succession. They all came from the same foot, that of FC Golden State forward Eduardo Faria, giving him a first-half hat trick. When the whistle sounded for the halftime break the scoreboard showed ASC 0, FCGS 3.
ASC started the second half with a few personnel changes looking to shake things up and change their luck, which seemed like it was just what was needed. Though Golden State was able to get the second half scoring going first, with a quick goal immediately after kickoff, ASC had definitely turned the pressure up and had many chances of their own. They looked to be following the pattern of the away side by scoring two goals in under one minute. First up, Adrian Reyes got a close-range pass from Alex Churness that he was able to slot to the back of the net. Then, directly off the corresponding kickoff, Cesar Behena was able to power past the Golden State defense and boot a beauty well out of reach of substitute goalkeeper Wolf Schemerhorn.
Though the men in the blue jerseys had several more opportunities in the remainder of the half, they could not convert those into points on the scoreboard. Golden State did however manage to get one more past ASC goalkeeper Nate Levy giving them a total of five goals for the night. The final score rested at ASC 2, FC Golden State 5.
ASC San Diego is on the road on June 10th to meet FC Arizona at Campo Verde in Gilbert, AZ with a kickoff time of 8:00 pm. This is their final match of the season and it is a must-win for them.
Photo Credit: David Frerker-San Diego Sports Domination
