Mustangs Fall 13-6 to Edison in First Round of CIF Playoffs

While Mira Costa coach Jon Reichardt watched his girls celebrate their Bay League co-championship last week, he knew that no draw would be an easy draw in the CIF playoffs.

The Mustangs fell to Edison High School of Huntington Beach Wednesday 13-6, the number three seed out of the Sunset League.

“I think it’s safe to say everyone is disappointed with our play, but I am proud of how we have played this season,” Victoria Southwood said.

A minute into the first quarter the Mustangs offense as it has all season, went to it’s number one option, Marisa Purcell, who tied the game up at one.

“We were excited to host a game here, they were a three seed, but this is Division I and every team is very good,” Purcell said.

The Chargers took control of the game in the middle of the first using a strong counter attack to catch the Mustangs defense off-guard with Alys Williams and Abby Oshiro scoring six goals between them as Edison took a 7-2 advantage into halftime.

“We were caught off guard on their counters, they got the ball up the pool really quickly,” Southwood said.

“Our decision making was not good.  I think we were really nervous, this is a young group and there is not as much CIF experience so you could see some hesitant play,” Purcell said.

Coming out of the half Emily Milstead found the back of the net off of a sharp toss past goalie Sydni Estrella to pull the Mustangs within four.

“I thought our half court defense was great.  They countered well for five or six goals and that was actually a surprise to me.  We just didn’t react well to their counter,” Reichardt said.

Mira Costa would not be able to get any closer, as Williams fourth goal on an uncontested breakaway, ended the third quarter with Edison in front 11-4.

“I thought we got the ejections we needed, but adjusting to their zone better would have been key to keeping it closer, Edison played great though can’t take anything away from them,” Reichardt said.

Sara Booth would score on a floater that made it over the head of Estrella and inched past the goal line.  Despite having success on her shots, Purcell struggled to find catches near the goal.  She added two second-half goals to lead the Mustangs with four on the day.

“They definitely pressed us on the outside and we had issues getting looks in close.  You can only hold your position for so long, and they did a good job defensively,” Purcell said.

Williams scored six goals with Oshiro adding four of her own to pace the Chargers.

Despite their first round exit, the Mustangs looked back positively on their seasons’ accomplishments.

“I couldn’t be happier to tie for the Bay League Championship, this team has the best dynamic of any I’ve played on,” Southwood said.