A late push from Centralia College made things interesting against Highline on Wednesday at Bob Peters Field, but the Trailblazers were unable to find an equalizer and fell at home 2-1 against the Thunderbirds.
The game was deadlocked at zero through one half of play, but a deflection off a CC defender gave Highline the lead early in the second half. Ten minutes later, the T-Birds added another to double their lead.
Now facing a two-goal deficit, the Trailblazers began pushing hard to get it back within one, and Krysta Hook did just that in the 75th minute.
Hook had another shot on net in the final moments of the game, and the Highline keeper briefly bobbled it before corralling it. That was as close as CC got to the tying goal.
“We needed to play our game,” CC coach Clarence Karteh said. “You could see the difference in the second half. That last 15, we were trying to push for a goal … The opportunity was there, and that’s something I love to see. Even though we’re losing 2-0, we never gave up, kept going, and tried to get that second goal. Proud of the effort from the players.”
Karteh mentioned that the focus in the next few practices will be focused on the offensive side, as they’ve scored four goals in four games so far this season.
He’s confident that as this large group of freshmen — 24 to be exact — continue to mesh together with the returners, that they will find a flow on that side of the ball.
“Just continue to work and improve,” Karteh said. “Really trying to get the players to understand their attacking piece … Things are starting to work together as we build chemistry on and off the field. We’ll figure it out.”
On the other end, Karteh wasn’t fazed about the quick pair of goals that Highline was able to score.
After all, it’s the first two goals that the Trailblazers have allowed in four official games so far this fall, and they also posted a shutout against Portland in an exhibition on Aug. 23.
“I’ll take that any day,” Karteh said.
CC (2-1-1, 1-1-1 NWAC) will hit the road on Saturday, when it heads to Vancouver to face Clark.
“We know it’s going to be another tough one, but I am looking forward to the challenge,” Karteh said. “I think the players that are on the travel roster will be ready.”
