The opening 20 minutes of Friday night's game was a roller coaster ride for the San Bernardino Valley College women's soccer team.
They went from the extreme high of scoring the game's opening goal in the fourth minute, to seeing their goalkeeper sent off in the 12th minute, and visiting Chaffey tying the game about five minutes later.
But the roller coaster ride wasn't all downhill from there, as the Wolverines generated the better chances for the rest of the game, as they settled for a 1-1 draw with the Panthers. It was SBVC's first result against the Panthers since 2019.
The opening goal came from a battle deep in the Chaffey penalty area. Melanie Bravo sent the ball in and Dianna Calleja dug it out battling with Chaffey goalkeeper Isabella Ortiz and was able to slide the ball into the net for the early 1-0 lead.
But things changed early in the 12th minute. Chaffey sent a long ball that landed between the SBVC defense and the Wolverines' penalty area. Goalkeeper Bella Silva charged out and tried to boot the ball away, but jumped into an attacking Chaffey player. The referee immediately showed the red card and sent Silva off. Without a second dedicated goalkeeper on the roster, Marjorie Diaz was pressed into action in goal for the Wolverines.
Unfortunately, the first shot she faced ended up behind her. During an injury stoppage, Diaz was trying to finish getting her gear situated next to the goal. With her still struggling, the referee put the ball back into play on a drop ball to Chaffey's Chloe Rodriguez. She flicked the ball toward the middle of the field, where Karina Parchment ran it down alone and put it in to tie the score.
Despite being down a player, the Wolverines continued to press forward. Forward Anna Bailey had a great opportunity just three minutes after the Chaffey goal. A Chaffey defender sent a pass back to goalkeeper Ortiz, but Bailey intercepted the errant pass and went in alone on Ortiz. She pushed her shot just wide the right of the goal.
SBVC had another golden chance at the go-ahead goal in the 82nd minute. The Wolverines were awarded a free kick about 40 yards from goal, and defender Desiree Aguilar hit the long ball that looped toward the goal and hit off the top of the crossbar.
In all, SBVC outshot Chaffey 11-8 in the game. Ortiz made four saves for Chaffey, while Diaz made three saves in relief of Silva.
