Butte falls at home to American River, 3-2
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
American River
()
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2 | 1 | 3 |
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Butte
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1 | 1 | 2 |
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | American River | Butte |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Saves | 4 | 8 |
| Fouls | 0 | 0 |
| Corner Kicks | 0 | 0 |
| Offsides | 0 | 0 |
Butte Valley >> Under new leadership this year, the Butte College women's soccer team is quickly learning a different system run by a revered soccer mind, former Chico State men's coach Mike O'Malley.
"It's different having him here because he's never coached girls before, but he's doing really well with us," Butte sophomore defender Kenslie Nicolaides said.
O'Malley and the Roadrunners were playing short-handed in their second home game Wednesday afternoon, as sophomore leading scorer and Chico High product Cassidy Murphy was nursing a concussion. As such, Butte struggled offensively through the game's 90 minutes, eventually falling to American River, 3-2 in a nonconference tilt at Cowan Athletic Complex.
"On Friday Cassidy will be playing again, which is great because we definitely need her up front," said Nicolaides, one of 12 area standouts on the team's 16-person roster.
Butte (1-2) hosts Mendocino (1-1-2) in another nonconference affair at 2 p.m. Friday.
O'Malley, a Chico Sports Hall of Fame inductee with a 155-129-16 career mark as the Wildcat men's soccer coach, said Butte's communication improved in the second half against ARC (1-2), which helped trim the deficit to a goal with about 10 minutes left.
Sophomore Kayla Ernst knocked in the second goal in about the 80th minute to trim the Beavers' lead to 3-2. A few minutes before, Chico product Neala Cronin nearly had her second goal with an open-field move to free herself for a shot that sailed wide of the left post from about 30 yards out.
"Neala's been great," O'Malley said.
Cronin, who was helped off with a second-half leg injury, equalized the match at one with a shot that beat ARC keeper Sophia Flood in about the 29th minute for her first goal of the season.
But about three minutes later, ARC struck again when Jocelyn Tamayo converted a two-on-one with the keeper, beating Butte's last line of defense, Pleasant Valley product Brenna Meier, for the score and 2-1 lead.
"The second goal was kind of disturbing only because we had numbers back but we didn't defend," O'Malley said. "One of the things they're learning is how to get back goal-side of their attacker, but the next phase is when and how to go after the ball."
Nicolaides, one of a number of returners and a veteran defender, did make a key stop early, breaking up a one-on-one with the keeper near the goalie box.
"Kenslie has been a starter for all three games," O'Malley said. "I thought she was rattled a little in the first half, but in the second she came back real strong."
The second-half rally was a message O'Malley delivered to the whole team postgame.
"I think we made a positive comeback in the second half, I'm happy with the improvement," O'Malley said. "The other thing that we did today because Cassidy Murphy is out — she's our center-mid — is we were forced to use a lot of people in different positions. I thought they fared pretty well, so we learned a lot from a loss."