DANA POINT – Carrie Taylor isn’t a fan of ties, but Monday night was an exception.
Down 1-0 early in the second half, Dana Hills’ second-year head coach saw her team battle back, and senior Liz Durst headed in an equalizer to the near post off a long throw-in from Lexi Marietti to tie San Clemente in the 56th minute of a crucial South Coast League match at Dana Hills on Monday.
The Dolphins (10-8-2, 4-2-1) controlled most of the ensuing 20 minutes and withstood pressure from the Tritons for the final five to earn a 1-1 draw that kept its playoff hopes alive.
“One of our problems is that we let up when we give up a goal,” Taylor said. “We trained on Friday on a scenario where we were down 1-0 with 15 minutes left, so they were prepared. It’s a good result.”
Last year’s Dolphins squad didn’t win a league match. With one match remaining, Dana Hills controls its fate when it travels to Aliso Niguel to close out the regular season on Wednesday.
The Wolverines defeated Mission Viejo on Monday to maintain the league lead at 5-1-1.
“We’ve got one more with Aliso and a tie isn’t a loss,” Taylor said. “I hate ties, but I’m pleased. Our league is so competitive and now we control our own destiny.”
San Clemente (6-8-5, 4-2-2) remains one point ahead of the Dolphins in the South Coast League standings. The Tritons are 3-0-2 over their last five matches.
The result is a vast improvement for the Dolphins from the teams’ prior meeting on Jan. 20. The Tritons were the aggressors in a 3-0 victory.
Early in Monday’s match, both teams displayed physicality, which led to a kickball style of play.
San Clemente pushed hard early and struck a pair of free kicks off the top of the cross bar.
In the 47th minute, Samara Bahu gave the Tritons a 1-0 lead as she redirected Amanda Gerrain’s corner kick with a header toward the top of the goal.
“Amanda gave me the perfect corner, it came right to me and I was able to put it away,” Bahu said.
But the tally served as a wake-up call for the Dolphins, who had a pair of chances before Marietti found Durst nine minutes later.
“We should have stuck to our game plan of keeping the ball on the ground and keeping it longer in possession,” Tritons coach Stacey Finnerty said. “I’m proud of the girls for going through the second round (of league) undefeated. Now we have to hope for a good result on Wednesday to receive a second-place bid.”
