Sobrato girls soccer turns in solid defensive effort, but falls 1-0 to Salinas

Sobrato rebounded from a season opening route at San Benito, by playing Salinas tough at home in a 1-0 loss Friday.
The Bulldogs responded to a 5-1 loss to the Haybalers on Tuesday by playing the Cowboys hard the entire 80 minutes, but came up short.
“I thought the effort was really good. We made some adjustments halftime and we picked up offensively pretty well,” said coach Paul Nishimatsu. “It could easily have been 3-1. We had our opportunities.”
The decider came in the 38^th minute of the first half when Emilie Costa sent a crossing shot into the right corner of the net.
Costa capitalized on a breakaway by Salinas and she put a strong strike into the corner.
Both sides had their looks, as the Cowboys tried to take advantage of their superior speed to get behind defenders. Sobrato, meanwhile, played solid defense and exposed Salinas to counter attacks the entire game.
Kayla Rebozzi at left wing and Leslie Cisneros at mid had several good looks at the Salinas net, especially early on in the game.
“I thought both wingers were doing a good job today, but the weak side was always open, so we tried to get the ball to them,” Nishimatsu said. “They pretty much created a lot.”
But the Salinas speed proved too much in the game as attacks were snuffed out quickly and Hazel Sanz was forced to be on her toes inside the cage.
The keeper had a handful of stops through the game, especially in the second half when Salinas had attackers break through the defense.
But the defense led by Kayla King proved sturdy, as most good chances by the Cowboys couldn’t develop.
King was involved in a scary moment midway through the first half when she and Valeria Tellez got tangled up chasing down a ball deep in the Bulldog zone.
Tellez’ feet got caught up in King’s and she went face first into a fence was just feet off the pitch. Tallez did not return for the remainder of the game.
The defensive pressure paid off late in the second half, when King was moved to attack and she forced the issue in front of the Salinas net.
Her best look, however, came on a free kick that clanged off the crossbar and fell in front of the net.
“It’s funny because we play a game called ‘crossbar’ and they start at the 6 (yardline) and go to the 18 and then the 20. The girl hitting the crossbar consistently was the one taking the free kicks,” Nishimatsu said.
Kristyn Lerma nearly had an equalizer off the rebound, but her header bounced off the bar as well.
Sobrato will have the weekend to get rested and will be back at it against Silver Creek in San Jose 3:15 p.m. Monday.