Pali Blues Soccer Kicks Past Seattle, 2-0

The Pali Blues women's soccer team hosted the Seattle Sounders on Sunday afternoon at Palisades High School’s Stadium by the Sea and came away with a much-needed 2-0 victory on goals by Anisa Guajardo and Tiffany McCarty.

“The girls finally played our style," Blues Coach Jacob Tudela said. "There’s still some stuff that we can tweak out, but for the most part, that’s how we want to play every game.”

In the fifth minute, Jessica Price placed a long throw-in at the far post that almost resulted in an own goal, but Sounders goalkeeper Liz Ruiz got down to stop the ball before it crossed the line.

The Blues continued to possess the ball and look for the right combination to get through the Seattle defense. In the 13th minute, Molly Kruger found the space for a shot, but wasn’t able to put enough power on it and Ruiz made an easy save.

The Sounders’ first opportunity for a goal came in the 24th minute when Kara Kutler's shot from 20 yards out was saved by Blues goalkeeper Adelaide Gay.

Five minutes later, Anisa Guajardo scored the first goal of the match on a play that started in the back with Gay. A few passes later, Danielle Hubka read Guajardo’s run and played her the ball. Guajardo shot it over Ruiz and into the corner of the net.

“It was an awesome combination play,"Guajardo said of the goal. "I think it went from [Elizabeth] Eddy, to Danielle, and then she one-touched it into the path I was running into. I decided to put it away and fortunately I did.”

In the 39th minute Guajardo found herself assisting the Blues’ second goal when she sent a through ball to Tiffany McCarty, who beat Ruiz with a left-footed shot to the lower corner to double the lead.

The Sounders had one last chance of scoring before the break when Kutler crossed the ball into the penalty area, but Gay came out to steal it away in the 43rd minute.

“This was actually the best first half we’ve had this whole season,” Guajardo said. “I felt it was fun, we we’re passing the ball around. Everything was coming together."

The Blues seemed to have settled in but the Sounders came out hungry for a goal in the second half. Three minutes in, Seattle’s Sophie Reiser got in front of a long ball played up the field. She tried to poke it past Gay, but it trickled just wide.

Seattle was in trouble when Reiser hurt her ankle in the 55th minute with nobody to replace her, since all three Sounders substitutions were utilized entering the second half. Reiser limped off the field, leaving her team one player short for 10 minutes. Reiser later returned, but was not able pick up her pre-injury form.

Seattle had a close chance in the 64th minute when Justina MacDowell slid to strike a cross that sailed wide of the upper right corner.

The Blues created three more chances before the final whistle. Molly Kruger took a shot from distance in the 76th minute, but Ruiz came up to grab it. Four minutes later, second half substitute, Kylie Williams blasted a shot that Ruiz stopped. Finally, in the 83rd minute, Eddy created space at the top of the box to unleash a shot that went right into Ruiz’s hands.

The final chance for Seattle to score was in the 85th minute when it earned a free kick. Tiana Brockway’s shot beat Gay, but fortunately for the Blues it went off the left post.

The Blues begin a five-game road trip with a game against the Colorado Force on Thursday at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. Two days later they will play the Colorado Rush at 1 p.m. Pacific.

The Blues return home to meet the Colorado Force on June 30 at Palisades High School at 7 p.m.

For tickets, visit www.bluessoccerclub.com or call 310-264-4649.

-- Alondra Hernandez