People don’t usually get their own birthday gifts.Don’t tell that to Shannon Hornbeck.
With the Warriors trailing 1-0, Hornbeck, midfielder, scored the game-tying goal in the second half en route to a 2-1 comeback victory against San Diego Mesa last Tuesday.
“My goal was off a throw-in near the corner flag.
It was thrown near the middle, things were jumbled up and when the ball came out, I happened to be there and kicked it in,” Hornbeck said.
“I was pumped because it was my birthday and I just wanted to do well. It was ironic that is was my birthday; it was perfect,” she said.
The team’s next game will be at Cerritos College Tuesday at 2 p.m.
With a suspected handball that wasn’t called, the Warriors (3-2) were caught looking at the referee and consequently gave up an easy goal in a forgettable half.
After Hornbeck’s goal tied the game in the second half, Callie Sala, forward, completed the comeback, scoring the game-winning goal in the 78th minute.
“On my goal, the goalie committed to the shooter so when the ball was crossed it was an easy shot for me,” Sala said.
The game was a tale of two halves for the Warriors.
Warriors trailed at half-time due to the lack of communication between players on the field.
“We were a little bit rocky and were kind of confused defensively,” Justine Zavala, midfielder, said.
“We weren’t marking players right, then at halftime we moved players around and got it figured out,” she said.
Coach Britton also said that the their lack of ball movement held the team from more strikes on goal.
“In theory we should be attacking from both sides, we’re supposed to switch the field of play continuously, but we continually kept going down the right side which isn’t good,” Britton said.
During halftime, Britton stressed the need for more communication and also switched up the formation leading out of the half, which lead to a more balanced attack and more scoring opportunities.
“We switched our formation up a little than what we usually do, so we were constantly talking to the coaches and they were helping us figure things out,” Sala said.
With the Warriors getting the win while dealing with many injuries, Sala said the team is more confident and more determined with the upcoming start of conference play.
“With players stepping up and a couple of injured starters returning it means we’ll be better and have a stronger team coming off the bench,” Sala said.
As they prepare to compete in the toughest conference in the state, Hornbeck knows there will be many more opportunities to get her won “birthday gifts.”
“We’ve played really hard, stepped up and have given it our all,” Hornbeck said.
“We’re going to get stronger and we’re going to continue to grow,” she said.