Staff Writer
Photos by Stephanie Kim
The girls’ soccer team fell to the Monrovia Wildcats 2-1 on Wednesday, February 10 at home. South Pasadena was missing five key starters due to various injuries, but the Tigers played with a high level of intensity, not allowing the RHL champions an easy win. With so many absences, the matchup proved to be overwhelming for the Tigers in the loss that puts them at 4-5-1 in league and 6-12-2 overall.
South Pasadena and Monrovia fought a physical battle on the field, with both preventing any goals for a majority of the half. Midway through the period, a Wildcat player crossed the ball to a teammate, who dribbled past several defenders and into the penalty box. She shot towards the far post and sophomore goalkeeper Sophie Reynolds dove, but narrowly missed the ball as it entered the goal. This put the Wildcats up by one going into the next half, but the Tigers remained unshaken by the deficit.
South Pasadena rallied late in the game, but Monrovia proved to be too much to overcome. A Wildcat player fired off a mid-range shot and Reynolds blocked the ball, but as it bounced off her hands, another attacking Wildcat came up and finished the goal. The Tigers took the ball up the field, but one of the passes flew too far, nearly going out of bounds. However, senior midfielder Lauren Richards hustled down the field to retrieve the ball. She stopped the overshot pass, dribbled around a defender and tapped it to the nearby sophomore midfielder Emily Dunn. She took the shot and hit the far post to put the Tigers one goal closer. The time wound down, and South Pasadena failed to put in another goal before the final whistle blew.
Due to the loss, the team did not qualify to play in the CIF playoffs. However, the Tigers hope to improve its performance in the upcoming season.
