LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Acalanes Falls to Campolindo


Emily Orwig (20) drives past Katelyn Rader (6). Orwig had two assists on the night. Photo Doug Kohen

Campolindo hosted Acalanes on the frigid night of Friday, December 10, turning out a 2-0 victory over its league rivals with two goals in the second half. Although the season is just beginning, Campolindo is looking threatening. Acalanes has promise of its own, despite losing the match; much of the Dons' starting lineup is injured.

Coming off a 2-1 win against Miramonte two days prior, the Acalanes Dons marched into the match looking strong. The first shot on goal came ten minutes into the first half from Acalanes senior Celina Velasco, the first of her game-leading three shots on goal. This promising start was met by a strong defensive effort by Campolindo. Twenty-three minutes into the first half, the Cougars' Emily Orwig started a rally with a shot on goal, followed by two from teammates, all of them saved by Dons' sophomore keeper Brooke Balfrey. Balfrey had seven saves on the night. At the half, the score remained 0-0 despite four shots on goal by both teams.

Campolindo senior Tori Ringquist commented on Head Coach Ernesto Silva's half time talk: "[Our coach] told us to settle down and relax because this was a very emotional game; he said 'just relax and do what you know how to do.'"

Silva's speech clearly worked, as two minutes into the second half came the breakthrough for Campolindo-a goal by senior Samantha Miller, assisted by Orwig, the first of her two assists on the night. Campolindo dominated the second half as they continued to create scoring opportunities at the expense of the of Acalanes' defense. Twenty minutes later, sophomore Hadley Swanson's shot found its way into the back of the net, again assisted by Orwig. Campolindo held on to take the win 2-0.

DFAL Offensive Player of the Year and one of the Acalanes' injured players, senior captain Anja Simonsen, commented her team's loss to Campolindo as well as on their season so far: "Against Campolindo we lacked cohesion in the midfield and weren't really a threat in front of the goal," said Simonsen. "I was excited coming into the season because I thought we had a lot of potential, but we've had a rough start with all our injuries."

Ringquist, on the other hand, was very pleased by her team's performance and is inspired by its overall chemistry. "We played collectively as a team; we didn't do well in the first half and we picked it up and we figured it out as a team and it wasn't an individual effort," she said. "This year there's a lot of chemistry on the field. So, we hope to go to and do well at NCS. We're good; we're no small thing."

Campolindo's confidence is fueling its momentum; the Cougars haven't lost since the win over Acalanes. They tied 2-2 against a strong Dublin team and subsequently beat Miramonte 2-0.

Acalanes, Campolindo, and Miramonte enter the break with 1-1-2, 2-1-1, and 1-1-2 records, respectively. After falling to Acalanes on December 8th, Miramonte bounced back with fervor. The Mats' biggest win, 3-1, was against Las Lomas on December 15th. They dropped their next match against Campolindo, 0-2, on December 17th.