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Facing Rio Hondo, who is perfect in league games this year, PCC failed to net an equalizer despite having control, losing 1-0.

The first home loss of the season for the Lancers contributes to a five-game winless for Pasadena.

The Lancers played a defensive 4-4-2 formation in the first half, which saw them keep Rio Hondo out of goal, only to be shorthanded when counter-attacking.

Head coach Reggie Rivas explained his tactical decision, saying, “They’re ranked No. 1 in the state right now, so we went a little defensive first to see what they had. Once we saw what they had, we went to three forwards [4-3-3] in the second half.”

The lone goal of the game came in the 62nd minute, when Rio Hondo holding midfielder Madison Maher played a touch and go pass with Emma Contreras who saw Maher side foot the ball into the left side of the net.

The game then became PCC pushing forward to try and equally by all means. The best chance for the Lancers came in the 80th minute, when midfielder Thamara Peterson had the ball fall at her feet right in front of goal after a free kick. Rio Hondo was let off easy, as Peterson could not keep her composure and skied the ball over the crossbar.

On the elusive equalizer, coach Rivas said, “We almost got it, unfortunately we shot it over.” However, the coach doesn’t walk away empty handed from the match. “They’re One of the best teams in the state, if not the best team, so it was good to compete with them.”

Fullback Emily Matthiesen echoed what coach Rivas said. “It was [frustrating] because last year we lost to them 7-0 and 5-0. So knowing that we can play with them now, it’s really frustrating that we couldn’t score even though we had the opportunities to do so.”

Forward Chloe Twitchell thinks that the Lancers have deeper problems. “I think in the first half mostly the reason we weren’t in the box is because there was no communication. Nobody was talking, and we didn’t have the drive to score,” she said post-game.

Scoring has been the problem for the Lancers. In their last five games, PCC has scored a total of 2 goals, a vast difference from the 15 goals scored in their five games previous.

“It’s very frustrating, but we’re in every game. We’re competing against the best teams in the state. We’re just going to work on it…we’re going to work on getting numbers…in the box,” said Coach Rivas.

Emily Matthiesen once again agreed with her coach, saying the Lancers need to focus on “Just scoring. I mean we get down the line and everything but we just can’t finish. I think that’s what we need to capitalize on.”

PCC next two game will be at home, including El Camino on Friday and Long Beach next Tuesday.

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