In a game of the slimmest margins, the Mariners were unfortunately on the wrong side. College of Marin fell to the Hartnell College Panthers 3-2, as the visitors were granted a controversial goal just before halftime. It proved to be the final margin as the Mariners dropped their seventh consecutive match.
Marin started out on the back foot as Hartnell pushed the pace at the whistle. Their tenacity was rewarded almost immediately as Adrian Serrato took the ball deep down the left flank, before whipping a cross to the back post that Alex Zamora tapped in for a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute.
The Mariners bent, but did not break as they parried the follow up attempts for a second goal by the Panthers. The good guys found an equalizer in the 16th minute as Daniil Menshikov intercepted a pass in the midfield and booted a long over the head pass to Wangberg. He took the pass at the edge of the box, beat the last defender and then the keeper to tie the match at 1-1.
The score remained the same until deep into first half stoppage time. A Hartnell corner, followed by a blocked shot led to a veritable scrum in front of net. The result was a ball that evidently crossed the line before Marin keeper Bryan Rodriguez caught it. It was ruled a goal by Adrian Serrato and gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead just as the halftime whistle sounded.
Marin did not give up the fight, attacking the Panthers in the second half. Their reward was a penalty in the 59th minute that Peter Carroll converted to tie the score at 2-2.
15 minutes later, a second pivotal opportunity came to pass. Carroll took the ball just outside the 18-yard box and unleashed a laser that was destined for the back of the net. At the last second, a Hartnell defender stepped in front and blocked the shot.
The ricochet started off a counter attack opportunity for Hartnell that Serrato cashed in with a powerful shot from the left of the 18-yard box that was not saved. The goal put Hartnell ahead 3-2, a lead they would not yield.
It was arguably the Mariners' most complete game of the season against a very solid opponent, but they could not pull out the victory.
Freshmen Kristoffer Wangberg and Peter Carroll each scored their third goals of the year for Marin and lead the team in that category. Rodriguez made two saves in the first half and Payam Ravanfar made five in the second half for the Mariners.
Next up for the Mariners is a road match against the Monterey Peninsula Lobos on Friday, September 27th at 2pm.