PHOTOS: Rosary battles, but falls to La Mirada 1-0 in opening round of CIF playoffs

Players and coaches from Rosary gather after Thursday’s CIF playoff match. (Photo courtesy Jim McCormack, For OC Sports Zone)

It was only minutes after an intense 1-0 loss to host La Mirada in the first round of the CIF Division 2 girls soccer playoffs Thursday and members of the Rosary squad were understandably subdued as they listened to assistant coach BJ McNichol praise the Royals’ effort against the Matadors.

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When he had finished, McNichol asked any of the seniors if they had anything to say. At first there was silence. Then one senior spoke, then another, and another, and the mood quickly lightened. Each senior had the same basic message, that it had been a fun team to play on and that the future looked bright for the underclassmen. 

Then someone said, “We’ll always have JSerra,” and the players broke out in laughter and hugs and the focus was on a difficult season in which the Royals had always competed to the end.

The reference to JSerra was from a Jan. 9 match when the Rosary, trailing 2-1 in the 76^th minute, was suddenly awarded a forfeit win because of unsportsmanlike conduct on JSerra, according to the Rosary coach.

Although the Royals only won twice, including the forfeit over JSerra, in the rugged Trinity League, they were up to the match with the Matadors.

From the beginning it looked like the match, played at John Glenn High School in Norwalk, might be a one-goal match and that was exactly what it turned out to be.

In fact it was a scoreless match until the 70^th minute when La Mirada’s Ryley Candelario got loose on the end line and fired a shot from about 15 yards out.

The ball caromed off the left post and bounced in front of the goal where Isabel Loza connected on the rebound shot.

“They got a good bounce off the post and finished it,” McNichol said.

Although there was a psychological boost to the first, McNichol thought the Royals were still in a position to even the score.

“We had a plan to get back in the game,” McNichol said.

But the scenario changed minutes later when a Rosary player was red-carded after a collision with La Mirada’s Aleah CdeBaca, who laid on the field for at least five minutes before being helped to the sideline. 

“Playing a girl down changed things for us,” McNichol said.

There were numerous stoppages on the field which the timekeeper couldn’t keep up with, so the end of the match was a somewhat elusive target. 

When it had ended, Rosary’s season finished with a 7-8-5 record. La Mirada advances to a Saturday second-round  match against South Hills at 5 p.m. at Covina District Stadium.

-Courtesy Jim McCormack, For OC Sports Zone