Drake Second-Best in Girls Soccer After Loss to Tam

As he walked off the Tam High soccer field following Friday’s 3-0 loss, girls soccer coach Carlos Campos looked over his left shoulder and spotted Red-tailed Hawks stars Storie Ledger and Kalie Rothlind.

“Obviously those two over there,” the coach generously pointed out, “we had to stop.”

A lesser man would have looked over his other shoulder and pointed at the referees, because, in the end, the Pirates couldn’t stop the men in yellow from contributing big-time to Drake’s demise in the finals of the Marin County Athletic League playoffs.

“I talked to the ref (after the match),” Campos said of the man who whistled two questionable fouls on the Pirates in the penalty box, resulting in two Tam goals on penalty kicks. “I don’t want to make big deal …”

He might not have wanted to, but there was no getting around it as Drake was attempting to record a second consecutive upset after having surprised Redwood in the semifinals Wednesday.

Actually, the referees played a part in all three Tam goals, even if Campos might not have noticed the first one.

It started innocently enough. After Tam and Drake players had come together and deflected a ball out of bounds just eight minutes into the game, the center referee pointed in the Pirates’ direction.

But before Drake could retrieve the ball, the boss ref was overruled by his sideline assistant, who wanted the throw-in awarded to Tam.

That seemed like no big deal until Tam’s Nicole Henderson fired a 30-yard strike between two Drake defenders, leading Ledger into a one-on-one with the goalie Chandler Stone, a duel the Hawks’ scoring ace easily won with a hard shot to the goalie’s left.

“They (the Hawks) were the first to it. We thought we had time,” Campos said of the brilliant throw-in. “Then Storie sticks her nose in there. That really was our only error.

“That first goal, I’ll take that one on the chin. The last two are hard to swallow.”

The penalty kicks came 13 and 16 minutes into the second half. A collision near the top of the penalty box resulted in one. A hard slide tackle in the box produced the other.

Nobody on the Drake side of the bleachers agreed with either call. Neither did the Pirates on the field.

“Those penalty kicks … I don’t know,” Drake star Tia Ferrando graciously noted. “If it was still 1-0, that might have changed the outcome.”

In fact, Drake got the better of most of the play. Ali Bimbaum and each nearly scored in the first half, and later a remarkable 40-yard blast by Emma Meckfessel bounced off the crossbar.

“I thought we were outplaying them,” Campos said. “I really thought we were playing well. We had chances. We were a little bit unlucky.”

Amid tears after the game, the Pirates were somewhat comforted with the big picture – having been among the last two teams standing in the tough MCAL.

“I’m happy we made it to the finals. We’re definitely proud of it,” assured , one of the best players on the field all night. “We played well. We had some unfortunate calls. It’s just hard to get let down.”

Added Ferrando, “It didn’t wind up the way we wanted, but I’m really proud of my team. We played our hearts out. I think we’re just as good as they are.”

Likewise, Campos headed home unconvinced his team was second-best.

“I told my girls to keep their heads up,” he said. “I still believe we have a better team. They just have a couple of better players.”