Del Mar 4 - Piedmont Hills 3
It has been a long tough season. The Lady Dons have battled hard against the "A" League teams trying to find their groove. They faced an unexpected challenge when Maricela Padilla was injured earlier in the season, which forced them to learn a new style of play. With many of the younger players taking on a larger roll in trying to get the Lady Dons on a winning track. The Lady Dons struggled week to week trying to get comfortable with the re-organization, but during it all still fought hard against teams which played much more physical than those they faced last season. In probably the most physical game of the season today against Piedmont Hills the Lady Dons, again with the help of Padilla, were able to put the past loses behind them and defeat the The Pirates in their last game of the season, again showing the heart that this team has....and the "never say die" attitude it will take to compete in the "A Division".

Del Mar 0 - Evergreen 1
In another physical duel the Lady Dons had their hands full going up against Evergreen, and again the Lady Dons held their own, Most of the game was played center field between the 30 yard lines. The one score Evergreen had was a slow dribbler that got by goalie Suzanne Bernd. Holding Evergreen to a single "weak" goal was a big accomplishment for the Lady Dons, because Evergreen had beaten the powerfully Leigh Longhorns just two weeks earlier. Its tough to loose a game like this, but the Lady Dons are making important progress in their ability to go up against these "A" league teams. Most of their games this season have been decided by a single goal.

The Lady Dons travel to Santa Teresa next Tuesday Jan. 29.

Del Mar 0 - Leigh 5
If you just look at the box score for this game, on the surface it looks to be a very one sided game dominated by Leigh. And although Leigh did dominate the scoring, the Lady Dons made some important strides in this game, and really, at almost any point in the game, you could look on the field and see a very aggressive Lady Dons team holding their own against a tough Longhorns team. The Lady Dons found themselves again without forward Maricela Padilla, and it looks like this will be the case for the remainder of the season. But what they did have is a better feel for playing without their dominant scorer. In games past where Padilla sat out, the lady Dons seemed to struggle to find a flow. Many of the players on the Del Mar team find themselves in a new roll, and with more play time as Coach Ken Padia struggles to find the right combination to get back on track and return to their scoring ways.

This game against Leigh was a big step in the right direction. Many of the DM players stepped up the intensity this week, and the team seemed to "GEL" more on the field as they get used to a new offensive strategy. The losses have been hard to take for the players, but on the positive side they are finding themselves pushed to new levels and they are up to the challenge.

With 5 games remaining in the season there is still a lot of soccer to be played. Go Lady Dons!

The Lady Dons meet Evergreen (finally) at Del Mar on Thursday the 24th. (and again next week in a rainout make-up game)

Good News: Just a week after saying that Maricela Padilla might be out for the season, We watched her steps back on the field for a short time against Pioneer. Her playing time was very limited, just a few minutes in both half's, but this might be the begriming of a full time return.

Bad News: Pioneer wins 3-0 --Ok, enough of the game review. Click here or the image to see the photo gallery from the game.

The Lady Dons travel to Leland on the 17th.

The past week held two tough games for the Lady Dons and Two 1-0 losses
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Game1: v. Branham... The Lady Dons played tough against the Bruins with neither team dominating the rainy field. The defense led by Lauren Pagendarm kept the bruins a bay. And goalie Suzanne Bernd made some great saves to hold Branham scoreless the first half, but just moments into the the second half the Bruins struck and caught the Lady Dons off balance. This was the only goal of the game as the Lady Dons were able to defend against any further offensive assaults by Branham. On the offensive side of the ball the Lady Dons were able to get some shots off on goal, but for the most part were held off just outside of the box preventing them from having any success in getting one into the net.

Game2: v. Piedmont Hills... Similar to Game 1 this week. The two teams were pretty evenly matched. Both teams struggled to get that first goal and jump out ahead. But neither team could break through the others defense for a clean shot until the last moments of the game when Piedmont Hills found a way. The Pirates scored the only goal of the game in the last 5 minutes giving the Dons their second 1 goal defeat of the week.

Its been a tough first half of the Season for the Lady Dons with a 1-3-2 record in league play, and the loss of forward Maricela Padillia for the season due to a knee injury. Jan 15th they begin the second half of the season by going up against the Mustangs of Pioneer in their second meeting.

Go Lady Dons!

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Thursday the Leigh Longhorns gave the Lady Dons of Del Mar a run for their money. As with the team from Leland on Tuesday, Leigh showed that there is a difference between the Division "B" teams the Dons faced last year and the Division "A" teams they are meeting up against this season. Leigh displayed ball handling skill that enabled them to keep the ball on the Del Mar end of the the field for much of the first half. But the Lady Dons' defense played tuff again and held them at bay outside of the box making all of their attempts on goal long shots which goalie Suzanne Bernd was able to reject. That is, all except for one. Leigh had a corner kick opportunity that put them in good position to take another shot on goal. The first attempt off of the corner was rejected, but as the ball came outside the box the Longhorns lofted a long, high, rainbow shot that went in just over the up streached arms of Bernd. It looked like the ball found the only airspace between Bernd and the top crossbar of the goal, but it was in.

As the second Half began the Lady Dons picked up the play on the offensive side of the ball and worked their way down to the Leigh end of the field several times giving #8 Maricella Padilla a few shots on goal that were blocked by the Longhorns goalie. About 15 minutes into the 2nd half Padilla was working her way down field against two Leigh defenders when she got tangled with the Leigh player and seemed to step on, and roll off the ball. Padilla went down with what looked to be a knee injury. Padilla came out of the game, but true to form was ready to go back in 10 minutes later. Unfortunately the injury turned out to be more serious than originally thought as she pulled up on a run down field and went to the ground. Eventually she had to be helped from the field.

Although missing Padilla, the Lady Dons offense came back fighting trying to work their way back down field, but were unsuccessful in their attempts to bring the game even. This marks the first loss of the year for the Lady Dons. And brings their League record to 1-1-1.

Del Mar travels to Evergreen on the 18th. And our thoughts are with Maricella Padilla in hope that the injury is a minor one.

The Lady Dons faced their toughest opponent this year in Leland. The play of the Leland Chargers was definitely a step up from the Division "B" teams we played last year. The Chargers displayed very good ball handling skills and pin point passing. However, this wasn't enough to get by "The Wall and Keystone" that was the Del Mar defense and goalie Suzanne Bernd. Bernd made no fewer than 5 excellent saves in the first half to keep the game scoreless going into the break. With the ball staying primarily on the Del Mar end of the field the defense had their work cut out for them, and the excellent play of Lauren Pagendarm, Allison Schauer, and Hillary Mormon kept the Chargers from having even more opportunities on goal. The second half started off as the first had ended with Leland making a charge and keeping the defensive unit of the Lady Dons on their toes. At about 18 minutes into the second half the Lady Dons found their chance and assisted by a great pass up field from #3 Brittany Salerno, # 8 Maricella Padilla took the ball up field for an easy shot on goal. But Before the ball could find net Padilla was called for off sides and the goal was no good. Minutes later Padilla again found herself up field with the ball, and with an impressive toe flip over the head of her defender, she was able to get by the Leland defense and score the only goal of the game. Before the game came to a close Padilla would come close one more time, and Bernd would reject 2 final attempts by the Chargers to bring the game even.

Thursday Dec. 13th the Lady Dons travel to Leigh.

The first half was somewhat uneventful. Both teams played strong defense and kept the other from having an opportunity to score. As the second half began the tide changed and the Lady Dons offense got on track. 3 minutes into the half Maricela Padilla takes the ball from 20 yards deep in Del Mar territory up the sidelines, by an SLV defender and shoots cross goal by a diving SLV goalie for the first score of the game. Two minutes later Ashley Valderrama has the ball on the SLV end of the field and passes to Padilla in the center who puts her second goal in less than 5 minutes in to the corner. SLV also began to pull things together a bit and worked their way down to the Del Mar end of the field, after a few scuffles in front of the goal, SLV tries to makes the most of a penalty shot but the SLV player fires it high and misses. Minutes later SLV makes the most of their next opportunity and are able to get one by the Del Mar defense for their first score.

Some of the "Lady Dons' New Blood" was also able to get into the act. #15 freshman Rachel Schauer takes a pass from Padilla about 20 yards out and drills it home for the 3rd goal of the half for the Lady Dons. Before the games end Maricela Padilla would hit the net once more on a penalty kick after Demi Nguyen was tripped up by a SLV defender. This game wraps up all the non-league games for the Lady Dons.

Tuesday the 11th the Lady Dons meet Leland @ home.

View photos from the SLV game >>

It was a cold dark day on the frozen tundra................OK so it wasn't that bad, but it was wet and cold at Pioneer Thursday, and a little slippery on the field. The Lady Dons faced their first league opponent in the Mustangs of Pioneer on the wet turf and the game ended in a 1 - 1 tie. The heartbreaker was that the Mustangs scored their goal in the last 35 seconds of the game off of a great corner kick that was headed in like a bullet from one of the Pioneer player. Most of the game was played between the 20 yard lines. Neither the Lady Dons nor the Mustangs seemed to "control" the game. The first half ended with both scoreless, opportunities in front of the goal were few, but there were a few a couple close calls on both sides of the ball. Both Del Mar and Pioneer played tough on defense and were able to move he ball out whenever it came close. With 22 minutes left in the game #8 Maricela Padilla finally got the break she was waiting for and was able to move the ball through the Mustang defense down the center of the field and from 25 yards out she was able to fire a rocket into the right corner past a diving Pioneer goalie for the first score of the game. With the minutes winding down in the game it looked as if that single goal was going to be enough. But with a minute to go in the game Pioneer was able to drive the ball down to the Del Mar end of the field and after some scuffle secured a corner kick in the last seconds of the game which resulted in their goal, and the eventual tie score.

Lady Dons fas San Lorenzo Valley their first round playoffs opponent from last season in a final non-league game this Saturday at 1PM @ SLV. Click here to see map of schools location

(** NOTE**: Please excuse possible inaccuracies in the game review, as I missed most of the first half)

In typical Westmont vs. Del Mar fashion this game was a tough fought very physical game. Both times the Lady Dons faced Westmont last year the games resulted in several penalties and bodies frequently on the ground. This game was no different. Both teams played a tough game. Westmont jumped out on top early in the first half, but the Lady Dons were not going to let them get any more. within minutes the Dons had come back with 2 goals by junior Maricela Padillia to jump back ahead. Before the first half was over the Lady Dons would score two more times, both by junior Demi Ngyuen, once on a nice drive and the second with help from some great passing from the back field up through the Westmont Defense to Padilla who at first looked as if she was going to take the shot, but then crossed it to Nguyen on the right side of the goal who punched it in passed a suprised Warriors goalie.

All the scoring took place in the first half but that wasn't the end of the action, both Del Mar and Westmont had several scoring opportunities in the second half, with the Lady Dons having two very close calls. Off a corner kick the Dons almost have a score off a header, and then later in the 2nd half Padilla just missed a goal when she drilled a shot off the pole.

As stated before this game was physical with many bodies hitting the turf throughout the game, the second half had the largest share of physicality as the Warriors began to sense the reality of their situation. In one sequence in the box, a Westmont player plowed Lauren Pagendarm to ground from behind which surprisingly did not result in a penalty on the Warriors but a double yellow card on Pagendarm and Liz Bergschneider for pointing out the refs oversight. Moments later Bergschneider was involved in a collision of her own which injured her knee and forced to come out of the game. Not to be outdone late in the 2nd half with just minutes to go #16 Brenda Valine came to the sideline with what only can be described as a "gusher" of a bloodied nose, off of a ball rebound. After the body count the Lady Dons came out on top with a 4-1 win

Thursday the 6th the Lady Dons have their first league game @ Pioneer, followed by their last non-league game on Saturday @ San Lorenzo Valley, 1pm.

The Lady Dons offense looked like it was starting to get comfortable against Fremont. Del Mar was on the attack most of the game Wednesday. Tough aggressive play in front of the goal lead to many scoring attempts in the first half, many of the shots on goal did not find net but did have the Fremont defense scrambling to protect the goal. The Lady Dons were moving the ball very well on the Fremont end of the field, and finally were able to take advantage of an opportunity when Maricella Padilla took a short pass in front of the goal and punched it in. Shortly after the goal Padilla found herself on the receiving end on a Yellow Card after a collision with a Fremont player. As the game approached its midpoint the Lady Dons started to hit their mark. Padilla took a long pass from Liz Bergschneider at midfield and drove it all the way down and scored again. As the second half began Del Mar wasted no time in putting Fremont on the defensive again, and Padilla took advantage of every opportunity with 3 more goals (for a total of 5 in the game) . The Lady Dons finished their assault on Fremont with a final goal from #16 Brenda Valine to finish off the Fremont with a 6 -0- victory.

The Lady Dons travel to Mt. Pleasant for a game under the lights Thursday evening (5:30pm start time).

Solid defensive play up the middle by Senior Lauren Pagendarm and what turned out to be an important diving save by sophomore goalie Suzanne Bernd were the keys to this Pre-Season win. The good defensive play by the Del Mar back field prevented Lynbrook from having many scoring opportunities. The Lady Dons took advantage of the Vikings slow start to jump out ahead. Del Mar scored 3 times in the first half, The first goal was a nice shot drilled into the left corner of the net by junior #25 Maricela Padillia. Several minutes later and after some nice passes to move the ball through the Lynbrook defense #18 Demi Nguyen found net for the Lady Dons second goal. The third goal of the half was scored by #5 Elara Sighe' after a corner kick by Del Mar and some nice passes gave #5 a great shot on goal. The second half saw Lynbrook make an attempt to gain back some of what it lost in the first half. Lynbrook caught goalie Bernd a bit far out and flipped a weak shot into the right corner. The Vikings followed up with a solid drive down the field and a strong shot drilled into the net to bring them within one. The Lady Dons although unable to mount an attack were able to hold off the vikings until the final whistle. Del Mar's first official Pre-Season game is a victory.


view images from the game >>

The 2007-08 Soccer season is now underway. Today the Lady Dons took the field against Prospect in a Pre-Season scrimmage. Although only a scrimmage it is a good opportunity for both coaching staff and team members to get a feeling for how their training has been progressing. Last season Prospect was the one regular season loss the Lady Dons suffered. Today's scrimmage was not reminiscent of last years battles with the Panthers as the Dons easily handled them in a 6-0 win. Brittany Salerno scored 3 times, Maricella Padilla had 2 goals, and Hayley Norman 1.


If you would like to review last years game summaries, pictures and videos... visit the 06-07 site here>>