BAKER GIRLS SOCCER: Bulldogs fall 3-5 to Pendleton Buckaroos
Sep. 30—Bulldogs girls soccer and coach Robbie Langrell met the Pendleton Buckaroos Thursday, Sept. 29, for a cool evening game where conditions weren't ideal but players were ready for anything.
The first 25 minutes of the game were a midfielders melee with dribbles, steals, blocks and drive kicks — and neither team were making headway. Defender Mary Schwartz and forward Jaycee Gray managed a few leaping body blocks as the team exchanged kicks.
Following the brief rain shower, a Buckaroo striker pushed through the Bulldog defenders and struck a low ball into Oakley Anderson's hands, but the now-wet ball spun through them, giving the striker the chance to land a second kick into the net.
The Bulldogs weren't easily slowed, however, and in the last six minutes senior striker Sydnee Pierce connected a point-blank shot into the Buckaroos net, bringing it 1 to 1.
"Sydnee battled that first shot in," Langrell said.
As the first half was closing, exchange student Emma Llaurado managed another goal with 35 seconds to spare, putting the Bulldogs in the lead 2 to 1, but in the last four seconds Buckaroos evened the game to 2-2.
The second half saw the Buckaroos close another three points over the Bulldogs, but Jill Poe managed an unusual rebound in the Buckaroo goal box, managing to headbutt a kick straight back into the net for an additional point and bringing the match total to 3-5 at game's end.
"Jill got the amazing header with a cross from Sydnee," Langrell said. "We came out super strong, played really well. We've got a couple girls that still have some injuries, so we couldn't play to our full extent quite yet. We've got some claw marks and stuff going on."
Bulldogs travel to Ontario Oct. 4 for a game at 4 p.m. Their next home game is
Oct. 25.
