Late goals hit Beaumont hard

The Beaumont High School girls soccer team was on its way to a second place league finish and quite possibly a home playoff game when things unraveled against Hemet Tahquitz on Wednesday.

The Cougars were clinging onto a 1-0 lead when the visiting Titans rallied with three unanswered goals that resulted in a disappointing Mountain Pass League 3-1 loss for Beaumont.

Beaumont (5-3-1, 13-6-5) will likely head into the playoffs as the MPL’s No. 3 seed.

“This was a game that could have boosted us,” Beaumont coach Kelsey Tedrow said. “I just don’t know.”

Beaumont took the lead midway through the second half on an impressive corner kick. Senior midfielder Rebecca Ashmore sent a shot toward the box where Christina Vanderbyl leaped and then headed the ball into the net for the goal.

That, however, was Beaumont’s lone highlight.

The Cougars had a fair share of scoring opportunities. Freshman Baylee Williams had three breakaway shots in the early going of the first half and another late in the second half – each shot, however, ended with a collision and save by Tahquitz goalie Cassiday Constantino.

Tahquitz responded quickly with a game tying goal that deflected off a Beaumont player. Then the Titans put the game away with two goals by Evamarie Cordero.

“We know Beaumont is a good team and that No. 6 is really fast,” said Tahquitz coach April Cordero, whose team finishes second in the MPL for the second straight season. “We played real flat in the first half and I didn’t think we’d pull it off. At the end we pulled it off.”

Beaumont completes the regular season on Friday at home against winless West Valley.

“I’m not sure what it was,” Tedrow said. “There was something missing. It wasn’t a bad game but it wasn’t our best.”