It was a day of firsts. But only one was particularly good news for a Master's team vying for a first-round bye in next month's conference tournament.
In a 2017 to remember, Mustang junior Jasmine Parada has scored a gaggle of goals. Before Thursday, she'd never netted three in one game, which, of course, would have been the headline had Menlo not climbed out of an early two-goal deficit to tie the score and force the Mustangs into their first double-overtime appearance of the year and, subsequently, first tie.
The Mustangs' 3-3 result against Menlo in Atherton dropped them eight points behind first-place Vanguard and three back of Westmont with two Golden State Athletic Conference games left on the schedule.
The Mustangs (12-3-1, 5-2-1 in GSAC) travel to William Jessup on Saturday. They host Westmont on Oct. 28 in a rematch of last Saturday's 5-2 loss.
The early stages of Thursday's game looked like another example of Mustang resilience. Earlier in the season, after a four-goal loss to Ottawa from Kansas, Master's came right back with a commanding win over Menlo.
The Oaks were less inclined to fall this time.
Parada scored her 13th and 14th goals of the season in the first 25 minutes, leading coach Curtis Lewis to tab her a "one-woman wrecking crew."
"She was fantastic," Lewis said.
She wasn't done.
After the Oaks reeled off three-straight, second-half goals, the Mustangs waited until the 11th hour to answer and, again, it was Parada.
The assist on the 89th-minute equalizer came from Sarah Stead, one of several Mustangs to put Parada in a good spot Thursday.
"Couldn't be more proud of my teammates," Parada said. "They gave me such great passes today. So good."
From there, no one scored. No one won. The Mustangs, though, lost ground in the chase for one of the GSAC tournament's two first-round byes.
After its three-goal loss to Westmont on Saturday, Master's players and coaches agreed the game had been far less lopsided. They planned to be ready when they got another shot at the Warriors on Oct. 28, the Mustangs' senior day.
But Master's also knew this trip to the Bay Area wouldn't be easy. It certainly didn't start that way.
"We did not handle their long balls well," Lewis said. "Part of that is mental toughness. Part of that is getting tired. We had trouble connecting passes today, and I don't own why we struggled with that in the second half."
