Girls Soccer: Highlanders Earn Impressive Draw

Piedmont 1, Bishop O'Dowd 1

The Star: In this case, stars. Forward Jessica Roach scored an impressive goal in the first half to put the Highlanders on the board and goalie Ayelet Haar was outstanding in net.

The Turning Point: Just moments into the match, the Dragons had two golden opportunities to get on the board. They didn't. In the 27th minute, Roach made an outstanding effort of her own and she capitalized to give Piedmont a lead.

The Quote: "This game means a lot," said Haar. "O'Dowd won NCS last year and just tying them means we can go really far."

What's Next? Piedmont will travel to tangle with league rival St. Mary's in a key BSAL matchup on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 3:30 p.m. The Highlanders knocked off the Panthers, 1-0, earlier in the season.

Bottom Line: Monday's effort was a great way to start a crucial week for the Highlanders.

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Even though it wasn't a win, the girls soccer team played one of its best matches of the season Monday afternoon at Witter Field.

The Highlanders fought, clawed, pushed and battled their way to an impressive 1-1 draw against powerhouse Bishop O'Dowd.

Forward Jessica Roach scored a stellar goal to put Piedmont on the board and goalie Ayelet Haar tallied seven saves as the Highlanders begin a critical week with a solid outing.

"O'Dowd brought a lot of speed and we matched that very well," said coach Craig Best. "I'm really happy with the way our girls played. This is the strongest team we've played this year and to hold them to a tie is extremely excitable."

The Dragons, who went 19-1-5 and won the North Coast Section Division II crown last season, are quite simply one of the better soccer programs in the East Bay and are once again off to a great start.

But on Monday, a scrappy Piedmont squad was able to keep the explosive Bishop O'Dowd squad from finding a consistent rhythm and a lot of that had to do with the efforts of the goalie in net.

Haar exhibited a great sense of play throughout the match, consistently seeing balls in the air correctly while pouncing on shots with excellent precision. Haar's one slip up came in the 40th minute, when a floater by Dragons' forward Bianca Lowe managed to sneak by Haar into the right corner post of the net.

The lone goal by Bishop O'Dowd certainly didn't diminish the Highlanders' defensive effort, however, as Piedmont managed to frustrate the talented Dragons just enough to throw off their usually crisp flow.

"(Haar) was a lot more active back there," Best said. "She really hasn't been tested this year so I was really pleased with how she played. It also makes it easier to play behind that backline she had."

The Highlanders were outshot (16-4) and out-possessed, but in soccer, statistics often only tell half of the story. What Piedmont lacked in skill, it made up for in team play, especially on the defensive end.

Bishop O'Dowd had two golden opportunities to score a goal in the opening minutes of the match (both shot attempts sailed just high), but after the initial surge, the Highlanders' backline really made things difficult on the Dragons.

Offensively, Piedmont struck first when the forward Roach took a nifty pass from midfielder Katherine Lim and muscled her way through the Bishop O'Dowd backline. Roach -- who -- dribbled down the middle of the field, rumbled past Dragons' goalie Tori Burns and lofted a perfect ball that just cleared under the post in the 27th minute.

And while the Highlanders didn't seriously threaten again offensively the rest of the contest, Piedmont was able to hang on for the impressive draw.

"This game means a lot," said Haar. "O'Dowd won NCS and just tying them means we can go really far this year."

The Highlanders are back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 19 against St. Mary's. Piedmont is currently in second place in the Bay Shore Athletic League and this week's matchups against the Panthers, Salesian and Albany will go a long way to determining the league champ.

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Piedmont 1, Bishop O'Dowd 1

Halftime: 1-1.

Scoring Summary:

1st, 27:25: P – Jessica Roach (Katherine Lim)

1st, 40:00: BOD – Bianca Lowe (unassisted)

Shots: BOD — 16. P — 3.

Saves: BOD — Tori Burns 1. P — Ayelet Haar 7.

Corners: BOD — 0. P — 1.

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