By Ryan Erickson
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa girls soccer players not only used their heads to make smart passes, but also to contribute the go-ahead assist when they played West Torrance at home on Jan. 11, winning 1-0.
The first half started out slowly, neither team scoring by the first half. Badly in need of a goal, coach Patty Perkinson decided to make a change by bringing sophomore Melina Cohen off the bench. This substitution proved to be the spark that the Mustangs greatly needed.
With 28:25 left in the game, freshman Mandy McKeegan drilled a corner kick into the box. Kimby Keever then headed the ball to Cohen, who placed the ball in the back of the net.
“The ball fell right in front of me and I just let my feet do the rest. I am extremely happy that I was given the chance to help the team and contribute to our first Bay League win,” Cohen said.
The goal in the early part of the second half energized the Mira Costa defense, which helped it maintain the shutout throughout the game.
“I think that our whole team is coming together as a productive unit, and with the schedule getting tougher as we start to get into Bay League play, this is a really important quality to use in games,” Perkinson said.
The anchor of Costa’s defense, senior goalie Dana Eisenhower, had 10 saves in the game, the most important of which came with five minutes left to play. When West had its best opportunity of the day on a fast break that would have tied the game at 1-1, Eisenhower made a diving save to seal the narrow victory for the Mustangs.
With this win, Costa improves its record to 10-2-3 overall and 1-0-0 in Bay League. The Mustangs’ next game is at home tonight against Palos Verdes, who is also 1-0-0 in Bay League play. Costa looks to take the momentum of this most recent win into the rest of its Bay League play.
“We are getting great contributions from every single player on this team, and it is good to see this quality of unity developing, especially because we are getting into Bay League, ” Perkinson said.
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