The Cougars got the season off to a decent start with a very exciting match against Harbor. Harbor was quickly at the Cougar’s net, forcing several saves from Gen in the first 5 minutes. Shaking off the previous week’s vacation took a little time, but eventually the Cougars settled into their game. Good mid-field work had both Daniela and April having shots on goal in the next five minutes. Undeterred, Harbor rallied: Gen was 1v1 with the Harbor striker, but unable to stop the shot. The Cougars countered with shots from Daniela and April again, but neither could find the back of the net. In the 26th minute Harbor again managed to penetrate the Cougar defense, and suddenly it was two goals up for Harbor. Looking determined, the Cougars took control of the game. The pressure paid off in the 31st minute when Sarah was fouled in the penalty area. Kate coolly put the ball away into the back of the net, and the Cougars looked like they were back in the game.

The second half began with Blair barely missing a chance in the 42nd minute, then a chance for Sarah in the 45th minute. Harbor countered, winning a corner kick. A week clearance gave Harbor a second opportunity, and now it was back to a 2 goal difference.

Confident in there ability to come back from adversity, the Cougars worked the ball through midfield with combination work from Sarah and April delivering the ball to Blair to pull back a goal.

The game shifted somewhat to battle in the midfield, with good anticipation from the Cougar back four to destroy any Harbor attack. The 52nd minute saw Harbor going wide down the Cougar left flank and sending in a long ball – whether a cross or shot, it succeeded in finding the far upper corner of the net!

The Cougars may have been down 2 – 4, but they were not out! Digging deep, they rallied strongly, and took control of most of the remaining 20 minutes. Battling fatigue and cramping muscles, Jackie and Blair combined to give Daniela a perfect shot on goal in the 64th minute. Any counter by Harbor was shut down by solid defensive work from Isabelle, Laura, Ashley and Dixie. Minutes later, they found Blair open in the attacking third who was able to make the diagonal pass to a charging Kate – GOAL! The game was tied, and still ten minutes to go!

Try as they might, the Cougars could not quite score. Daniela even hit the post in the 72nd minute! The Cougars did not let down for a minute in the remaining minutes, thwarting all attacks from Harbor!

Overall, a great Cougar performance! As everyone settles into their positions we should see a lot of exciting soccer this season!

GO COUGARS!

SPECIAL NOTE: Game Forfeiture:

Due to an Admissions/Athletic Dept. oversight, Santa Catalina played a (eligible) player that had not completed the appropriate CCS transfer paperwork prior to enrolling at the start of the year. In addition to forfeiting the games that this player played in, CCS banned this (eligible) player from three subsequent games. CCS makes a big deal about student/player participation – but where is the logic in this scenario? Our subsequent results clearly demonstrate that there is little or no need for cheating in our athletic program for our athletes to succeed.

The player in question was completely eligible to play for Santa Catalina, but in her (re)enrollment process the appropriate paperwork for athletic participation had not been completed. Who should be punished for this oversight, assuming any punishment is even warranted?

CSS has extensive rules in place to prevent schools from recruiting athletes to bolster their programs. Unfortunately these rules have a “zero-tolerance” approach, removing any iota of common sense when a student/player moves from one school to another. Regarding a situation where the adults in charge make a mistake, find out about it, own up about it and quickly rectify the situation, what does CCS do? - Penalize the player, punish the team and tarnish their record. Intelligent adult administrators should have the capacity and power to make appropriate and meaningful decisions for the benefit of our athletes, instead of hiding behind blanket statements of “those are the rules”!

If you have any further comments on this CCS policy, please direct them to the CCS Commissioner, Nancy Lazenby Blaser: nblaser@cifccs.org and our MTAL League Commissioner, Tim McCarthy: mccarthy@cmmlaw.com .

The Santa Catalina Cougars are committed to “Playing with Class, Good Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct”. Please email me at rodgilchrist@montereysoccer.com to receive a copy of this. The original version of this article can be found in "The Soccer Coaching Bible", put out by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Visit http://www.nscaa.com/ for more information.

GO COUGARS!!!!

Rod Gilchrist, Santa Catalina Varsity Coach, 831 917-3367.