Lady Rattlers fall to Bastrop in ‘unlucky’ match

Head coach Jason Carnley called it “unlucky.” 

The Lady Rattlers dominated possession of the ball in the first half of its Monday matchup with Bastrop inside San Marcos Toyota Rattler Stadium, and found open looks at the goal nearly at will. By the end of the first 40 minutes, the hosts outshot the Lady Bears 15-1.

None of the shots made it past Bastrop’s goalkeeper, though. And while San Marcos couldn’t catch a break on offense, it gave up two big ones on defense as the Lady Bears took a 2-0 victory.

“We just couldn’t finish tonight,” Carnley said. “It was the word ‘unlucky.’ It just felt like we were moving the ball around, we were dominating, everything looking good. We just couldn’t find the back of the net.”

The Lady Rattlers took six shots in the first 10 minutes of the match, half of them on goal. Later in the first, Bastrop received a yellow card after fouling sophomore Isabel Duenez just outside the box. Freshman Ana Barragan’s free kick sailed just left of the goal.

Barragan took three more shots in the final five minutes of the half. One of the shots ricocheted off the crossbar and the Lady Bears’ goalie scooped up the rebound before anyone had a second chance at it. San Marcos had nothing to show for its hard work by halftime, as both sides remained scoreless.

“We were putting strikes on, it’s just, I don’t know if we were trying too hard or if we were just overthinking it,” Carnley said. “It’s just the small things right there.”

The hosts went into the second half with the same pep — and misfortune. Barragan received the ball on a San Marcos corner kick, shook past her defender and launched a shot from the left side of the field outside the box. Bastrop’s keeper pinned it to the goal post.

Two minutes later, the Lady Rattlers deflected a shot on goal from the Lady Bears, resulting in a corner kick. The visitors crossed the ball into the box and headed it in for the first goal of the game, taking a 1-0 lead with 30 minutes remaining.

“The momentum shifted once we got scored on the corner,” Carnley said. “Because we’ve been emphasizing ‘No corners, no corners.’ And then once that happened, you could just see everything kind of just drop.”

The ball got stickier for the hosts. The team began dribbling more and passing less, moving away from what made it successful earlier in the match. Bastrop took advantage, stealing the ball away and holding onto it for longer possessions.

San Marcos was called for a handball inside its box at the 10-minute mark, resulting in a penalty kick for the Lady Bears. Senior goalkeeper Geraldine Rubio got her hands on the shot, but the ball sprung up and found its way inside the goal, securing the 2-0 victory for Bastrop.

Carnley was still pleased with his team’s effort. The Lady Rattlers outshot its opponent 19-6 for the game. He hopes that San Marcos (4-4-2) will find a way to finish when it hosts Austin LBJ in the last non-district game of the season Thursday inside San Marcos Toyota Rattler Stadium at 6:45 p.m.

“We’re looking for some energy, we’re looking for some fight,” Carnley said. “If we can finish, it’ll be OK. If we can move the ball, it’ll be OK. If we can’t, it’s going to be another night like tonight.”