Last Friday, Mariposa’s varsity girls’ soccer squad dropped a 3-2 contest to Waterford’s Wildcats, which broke a point tie with Le Grand that pushed the Lady Grizzlies into second place in the Southern Athletic League.

A flurry of goals in the first half left the contest tied at 2-2 at the intermission. The Wildcats drew first blood when freshman substitute goalkeeper Amber Augustine charged a shot that bounced over her head and into the goal in the 12th minute for a 1-0 Waterford lead.

“It was purely a freshman mistake,” said head coach Ray Gregory. “ Mariposa’s starting goalkeeper, Carrie McNally, was away on a school-related function.

One minute later, Waterford struck again when Mariposa’s defense lost track of the Wildcats’ striker who ripped the ball into the net from 12 yards out.

In the 15th minute, the Lady Grizzlies responded when sophomore center forward Katie Montgomery fired a shot that careened off the foot of the Wildcats’ sweeper and ricocheted into the net to close the gap to 2- 1.

Two minutes later, Montgomery drove deep into the box and was fouled, earning a penalty shot. Malon Lasater slammed home the penalty shot for Mariposa to deadlock the contest at 2-2.

Both teams battled for control the balance of the second half before, with just 5 minute left in the match, Waterford scored the winning goal. In a scramble in front of the Lady Grizzlies’ net, the ball squirted loose and was swept into the goal.

Last Wednesday’s game with Turlock Christian was rained out and will be rescheduled.