CALISTOGA >> Just when Upper Lake girls” soccer coach Mandy Robbins had a couple of extra players to call on off her bench, all of a sudden she didn”t.
Upper Lake suited up 13 players for its non-league game on Wednesday in Calistoga against the Wildcats but emerged with only 11 after falling 3-0 to the squad now led by former Middletown coach Louise Owens.
Two Upper Lake starters left the game with injuries and their status is unknown, according to Robbins.
“We have another game tomorrow (Thursday) and I don”t think they”ll be able to play. We”ll see.”
Robbins described Calistoga”s style as “physical” and said her Cougars were not aggressive enough during a first half in which the Wildcats scored all of their goals.
Upper Lake keeper Jazlyn Bonilla kept the Wildcats off the scoreboard until midway through the first half. With Calistoga spending most of the game on Upper Lake” side of the field, Bonilla had another busy afternoon.
“They had 30 shots on goal and she stopped all but three,” Robbins said. “She did a great job.”
One of Bonilla”s stops came on a penalty kick.
Upper Lake (0-5) had just seven shots on goal.
“We just couldn”t keep it (the ball) on their side of the field,” Robbins said. “We”re not together as a team yet.”
If there was a silver lining to the Cougars” loss it was that Robbins got all of her players plenty of time on the field.
“I had to play all of my freshmen,” she said.
The Cougars hit the road again today when they travel to Boonville to play Anderson Valley at 4:30 p.m.
“Another physical team,” Robbins said.
