Kentfield, CA—On a blustery day in the shadow of Mt. Tam, the Mariners hosted the College of Siskiyous on Monday. The Mariners came into the contest looking to bounce back from an 8-0 shutout at the hands of the Cañada Colts on the road. However, in their first home match on the season the Mariners watched the Eagles soar.
The Eagles pounced on early opportunities to get on the board first, and continued to attack—creating chances left and right. While the Mariners had the luxury of substitutions for this matchup, unlike in their season opener, the fresh legs could only help so much. The Eagles used clean passing and good spacing to create a plethora of chances for themselves. By the 89th minute the Mariners were on the wrong side of a 7-0 score.
While Marin was able to turn a few counter attack opportunities into shots on goal nothing connected as the game entered its waning moments. That's when Elise Perez put the Mariners on her back. Taking the ball from Marin's side of the field, weaving through traffic, dancing past defenders, and leaping through a hard slide Elise put herself into a one-on-one with the Siskiyous keeper. Perez rocketed a shot into the back of the net and put the Mariners on the board for the first time on the young season.
While the game was decided long before Perez's outstanding individual effort the goal served to lift the spirits of the Mariners and allowed Marin to end an otherwise disappointing match on a high note. After falling in back-to-back lopsided games the Mariners will try to take the momentum from Perez's goal into their next contest. Marin hosts the Chabot Gladiators this Friday, the 16th, a 2:00 PM start.