From the opening whistle, the Malibu Sharks girl’s soccer team took control of the game and easily cruised to an 8-1 victory over the Bishop Diego Cardinals Thursday afternoon at Malibu High School.
“We did a good job of moving the ball around and maintaining possession,” Sharks head coach David Simpson said.
Midfielder Hannah Mehring led the way for the Sharks with two goals and two assists on the afternoon.
“She [Mehring] worked hard today and really deserved her goals,” Simpson said.
Midfielder Catherine Calvert also turned in a quality performance for the Sharks with a goal and four assists.
The first 20 minutes of the game was spent almost entirely on the Cardinals’ side of the field. Despite the Sharks’ control of the ball and constant offensive pressure on the Cardinals’ defense, they weren’t able to get any quality shots on net.
In the 23rd minute, the Sharks finally got on the scoreboard. Mehring slotted a pass through the Cardinals’ defense and hit Eva Post in stride, who then buried the ball into the left corner of the goal to make it 1-0 Sharks.
Five minutes later, the Sharks struck again. Calvert took the ball in from 30 yards out and dribbled through four Cardinal defenders before slotting home the goal into the bottom left hand corner. Two minutes later, Zara Drapkin scored to make it 3-0 Malibu at the half.
The second half saw more of the same domination from the Sharks. The play in the second half opened up, producing back and forth action with many counter attacks. The Sharks scored the first three goals of the second half in a span of four minutes.
Mehring split a pair of defenders with a pass to spring free midfielder Brittany Saul, who finished the ball right through the goalkeeper’s legs. Three minutes later, an awkward deflection left Mehring with the ball all alone behind the Cardinals’ defense with only the goalkeeper to beat. Mehring put away her second goal of the game to make it 6-0 Sharks.
The Cardinals got one back in the 67th minute, heading home a corner kick. “We got relaxed on defense and allowed the other team too many shots in the second half,” Simpson said.
Sarah Daoud finished off the scoring for the Sharks with a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes to make it an 8-1 final.
“There is a lot of talent out here and the girls are working together and getting things done,” Simpson said.
With the victory the Sharks improved to 3-0 on the season. This week the Sharks will take on Santa Monica High School, Oxnard and Viewpoint.