APTOS — Off to their best start in recent memory, the Cabrillo College Seahawks received a slice of humble pie on Tuesday in the form of a 3-1 loss to the Skyline College Trojans on Fry’s Field at Carl Conelly Stadium.
Cabrillo entered its Coast Conference South division opener with a 4-1-1 record but could not crack the stingy Skyline defense, which helped the Trojans keep their undefeated season rolling.
The Seahawks dropped to 4-2-1, while the Trojans improved to 7-0 and set up camp atop the CC-South.
Cabrillo, however, wasn’t fretting too much about the loss.
“We’ll be fine,” said Cabrillo head coach Paolo Carbone. “Sure, we lost the game, we could’ve done better in certain situations but it’s the first game of the season. They’ll be OK.”
Down 1-0 at the half, the Seahawks dominated the possession after the break but couldn’t find the back of the net until it was too late. Charlie Stock caught the Trojans’ defense sleeping off a foul and beat the keeper on a one-on-one situation to make it 2-1 in the 85th minute.
Cabrillo pushed forward over the next five minutes trying to find the equalizer but was burned by Christian Marquez on a counter attack in the 90th.
The goal put an end to Cabrillo’s frustrating day, which featured several misplayed balls, a pair of yellow cards and tons of miscommunication, three things that were foreign to the Seahawks during their hot start.
“Knowing that this is the No. 1 team in the conference, we just learn from this because we know that we can be a better team,” said Cabrillo forward Walmer Martinez. “We’re all down right now because we all know we all could’ve done way better today. We’re going to learn from this.”
The proof of the Seahawks’ potential being their strong start to the year in which they posted a trio of shutouts. The promising beginning was a far cry from last season, when Cabrillo did not secure its first win until October and ultimately finished 4-10-4.
Martinez, who is one of just a handful of holdovers from last year’s team, said this year’s group has been a breath of fresh air.
“Just the amount of people that have committed to the team has been a big difference because we play as a team,” Martinez said. “[Last year] sucked because you couldn’t rely on anyone. You didn’t have anyone there for you, for your team.”
The Seahawks flashed their talents throughout Tuesday’s contest but their mistakes proved costly.
A defensive miscue in the first half led to an Alex Gonzalez score and miscommunication on a free kick put Skyline up 2-0 in the 78th off a Shayan Charalaghi goal.
The Seahawks did find the back of the net but Jose Magana’s score, which would’ve tied the game at 1-1, was waived off because of an offside call.
Stock’s score gave the Seahawks a shot but it proved to be fool’s gold, as the Trojans iced the game minutes later.
Cabrillo will try to rebound on Friday at Ohlone College at 4 p.m.