Two second-half goals by Ambria Pogue and Ally LaCarra-Platt helped the Broncos secure a 2-2 tie Friday afternoon against Cal State Monterey Bay.
It has been the same story for the Broncos all season, as they continue to outshoot their opponents by a large margin but are unable to take advantage of their chances.
“We started really well, we put them under pressure for the first thirty minutes,” head coach Jay Mason said. “They countered us and it was a good counter. They found someone back post and it was a great finish.”
The Broncos outshot the Otters 11-1 in the first half. Pogue and LaCarra-Platt had the first four of the five Broncos shots in the game.
With just 15 minutes into the game, Pogue nearly gave the Broncos the lead but her shot was saved by the Otter goalkeeper Stephanie Busch.
Continuing to put pressure on the Otters, the Broncos were looking to grab the lead with another shot by Pogue in the 25th minute that was saved.
Both defenses remained locked in, but in the 42nd minute of the half, the Otters scored the first goal of the game.
The Broncos kept remaining aggressive, pushing their numbers ahead, but a counter-attack opportunity for the Otters helped give them the lead. The shot was from 14 yards out and hit the crossbar and ended up in back of the net.
That was the Otters’ only shot in the first half but it gave them the lead heading into halftime.
Looking to make halftime adjustments the Broncos came out firing, aiming for the equalizing goal. LaCarra-Platt’s first shot in the second half with just three minutes in hit the crossbar but Pogue was at the right place as she scored off the rebound, giving the Broncos their first goal of the game and her second of the season.
“Halftime we made a couple of adjustments and we answered right away,” Mason said. “We found a way and the girls battled back and to be fair we had a couple of chances down the stretch but we missed.”
With momentum on the Broncos’ side, they were looking to capture the lead and get their first win in conference play.
On another counter-attack, the Otters regained the lead in the 65th minute of the game. Jasmine Safarian’s cross into the box left Annie Brown in front of the net, which she put home to give the Otters the 2-1 lead.
It took the Broncos only two minutes to tie the game once again as LaCarra-Platt went on a breakaway, running past defenders and shooting the ball past the goalkeeper in center of the goal to tie up the game at 2-2.
Neither team was able to get the winning goal as the game ended at 2-2 at the end of regulation.
The Broncos finished regulation with a total of 19 shots to just four of the Otters. The Otters goalkeeper made a total of 11 saves in the game.
The game headed into overtime with each team looking for the golden goal in order to give its team the victory.
LaCarra-Platt took an early shot just two minutes into overtime but her shot sailed just high over the crossbar.
That was the best opportunity for the Broncos to capture the victory. The Broncos only had two shots in overtime to just one from the Otters.
In the last four games before Monterey Bay, the Broncos had only one goal, which they doubled in Friday’s game. Although the Broncos are outshooting their opponents, they continue to struggle to get goals.
“They have a feeling like a world is against them and they are trying so hard to get that goal and get that monkey off their back,” Mason said. “It’s a testament to them to keep going and trust in the process and just to make sure they stay positive.”
It was the Broncos’ third tie of the season — all of them went into overtime.
The Broncos got their first win in conference play as they defeated Cal State East Bay 2-1 in overtime.
Freshman Jillian Erwin scored two goal in the game with her second being the game winner.
The Broncos only have two games left in the season as they will head to Cal State LA Friday and Cal State Dominguez Hills Sunday.
Show Comments (0)