The Bishop O’Dowd Dons defeated the Moreau Catholic Mariners 2-1 in the first round of the HAAL playoffs. The game was a physical match that turned out to be a tale of two halfs.

 The wind was a great factor in this game as the first half was mainly under Moreau Catholic control and they had the wind on their side. The second half was another story as O’Dowd, after the both teams switched, had an advantage with the wind and they took full advantage of it. 

 The first half was dominated by Moreau Catholic, but Moreau lost a lot of opportunities that kept O’Dowd in the game. The Mariners had a few corner kicks that could not be put in the net and with great goaltending by National goalie Stephanie Szabo. 

 The second half was totally dominated by the Dons when fifty minutes in, Maddie Feldon scored from thirty yards out. The booming shot sailed right over the leaping goalie,  Nikkie Rombough. The first goal looked like the nail in the coffin as the tight play of the two teams seemed relentless, but O’Dowd was not finished. Off a penalty kick from far out, Angelina Elliot headed the kick in to the open net. 

 It looked like that would be it and a come back would be improbable, but the Mariner girl’s wanted to prove otherwise. With a few minutes left in the game, Desiree Pollock knocked a rebound in and made it a one goal game. O’Dowd did not have their safe lead anymore, but it did not matter as the Mariner come back came too little too late as the whistle blew to end the contest. 

 The Mariners were very proud of their performance. “I was pretty proud of my kids,” explained Coach Palacio. “This was our first real game where everyone was healthy and they showed it on the field tonight.” The Mariners played a hard fought game and are hoping that it might have made an impression to get them a NCS cede.

 The #1 Dons will face the #2 Arroyo Dragons on Thursday, February 8. The Dons have a pretty youthful team and they are proud of the development of the team so far this year. “We were worried coming into today how this team would respond,” Assistant Coach Wilkinson explained. “They played better than expected and it looks as if they are maturing from the playoff experience.”

 These are two totally different teams, yet they played a great game that went back and forth each half. O’Dowd took advantage of the wind and missed Mariner opportunities led to a Don victory.  
 

James is a student  at Moreau High School in Hayward, California