Citrus Women's Soccer Battles To the End in Loss to Grossmont

The table was set Friday for an anticipated showdown between Citrus and Grossmont at Citrus College Stadium. But the Owls suffered a defensive lapse right off the bat, as two early stingers from the visitors caught the normally focused Citrus defense off guard, opening up an early 2-0 lead. But Citrus would repeatedly fly down the field in formation, relentlessly swarming the Grossmont goal with multiple shots, forcing Griffin goalie Jessica Schott to put in a good deal of work. But the Fighting Owls bashed the door in on Grossmont, with Danielle Lagrave booting home a goal with just 2 seconds remaining in the first half.

The second half didn't disappoint the home crowd as both teams surged offensively, taking multiple cracks on each other's goal. Citrus pushed the tempo on the Griffin defense, swarming on the offensive end throughout most of the half, and would eventually rack up 23 total shots on goal. But the Owls' energy would be deflated by a late goal off a corner kick by Grossmont. Grossmont would finish the afternoon with a 3-1 lead, and improves to 2-2-2 on the year. Citrus falls to 3-2-2. The Owls take to the pitch again on the 19th, at Oxnard.