The Greyhounds kicked off the winter soccer campaign with a pair of recent hard-fought matches, falling to perennial powers Windsor and Maria Carrillo.
Healdsburg (0-2) opened the action with a Dec. 7 visit to Windsor, getting a good litmus test against an outstanding side. Windsor controlled the flow of play most of the way, tallying two goals in each half to record a 4-0 win.
“Windsor definitely was the better team,” HHS coach Herbert Lemus said. “We made a couple of mistakes in the defensive third that cost us. We need to be a more cohesive team in order to perform well, but it will take practice and games to get it done.”
The Hounds played host to a playoff caliber Maria Carrillo squad on Dec. 11, hanging tough with a successful first-half penalty kick from Angel Manrique to trail 2-1 at the break.
The floodgates opened in the second period, as the Pumas scored four goals in quick succession, including an own goal, to break the match wide open. Manrique accounted for all of Healdsburg’s scoring, finding the net again with a second-half goal on an assist from Sebastian Rodriguez en route to a 6-2 Carrillo win.
“It was a close game (in the first half),” Lemus noted. “But once Carrillo scored against us in the second half we just couldn’t control their high pressure.”
The Hounds will be back on the pitch in a non-league home match against Piner on Thursday, Dec. 16 (7 p.m.), and host Justin Siena on Tuesday, Dec. 21 in a 6 p.m. start.
