Pali Blues Settle for Draw in Home Finale

The Pali Blues soccer team played its final home game of the season against the Colorado Rush on Saturday afternoon at Palisades High's Stadium by the Sea and it was not the result the women wanted.

After the Rush took the lead in the 62nd minute, the Blues came back one minute later to even the game 1-1 and that was still the score at the end of the full 90 minutes.

Pali Blues head coach Jacob Tudela was not satisfied with the result.

“If you look at it statistically, I think we were unfortunate,” he said. “We still have to be much more creative in the final third. We possessed the ball extremely well, but we’re still not creating enough.”

The draw moved the Blues (6-1-5) into a share of second place with Santa Clarita (7-0-2) in the W-League Western Conference standings. Both teams have 23 points. Santa Clarita, however, has played three less games than the Blues and frontrunning Vancouver (8-1-3), which has 27 points.

The Blues got off to a good start and in just the fourth minute they had an opportunity to take the lead. Tiffany McCarty ran the ball down to the end line, playing it back to the top of the six-yard box for a wide open Jamia Fields. Rush goalkeeper Krissy Tribbett, however, made a big save.

The Blues struggled on the offensive end and it wasn’t until the 33rd minute that they had their next chance when Cami Levin shot a bullet that was seemingly headed for the back of the net. However, her shot hit the crossbar and no Blues were able to kick in the rebound.

In the 51st minute, Jessica Price had a great chance for a goal when she received a long ball from Sasha Andrews and dribbled it up the field before releasing a shot from inside the penalty area that was again saved by Tribbett.

Colorado, in fourth place in the conference standings at 5-4-3, broke the scoreless tie in the 62nd minute when Lindsey Horan chipped a ball over Blues goalkeeper Anna Picarelli and into the side netting of the goal.

The Blues evened the score the following minute when second half substitute Molly Kruger stepped up to take a free kick from 25 yards out. Her shot went through the wall and beat Tribbett just inside the left post.

“I was really confident going into it,” Kruger said. “Once the whistle blew, I knew that I was the one to take it, and I don’t always have that confidence so it was really exciting.”

In the first minute of stoppage time, the Blues earned a penalty kick when Christie Shaner was tripped inside the box. Anisa Guajardo stepped up to take it, but was denied by Tribbett, who dove to her left to grab the ball.

“Obviously we had to get the win especially with it being our last game at home,” Pali Blues captain Christie Shaner said. “It’s a little bit of a disappointment that we didn’t get the win, but we fought hard and it’s been the story of our season; some ups and a few downs.”

The Blues' next game is against the fifth-place Los Angeles Strikers on Saturday, July 9, at Occidental College in Eagle Rock. Their last game will be against Santa Clarita on Sunday, July 17, at 7 p.m. at Canyon High School in Canyon Country.

-- Alondra Hernandez