By rating (combined record, and historically speaking) the City Western League is one of, if not the most difficult girls’ soccer league in San Diego County.

With heavyweights such as Cathedral Catholic, Point Loma, Patrick Henry, and the Academy of Our Lady of Peace, there aren’t any easy games; every minute of every game is a gauntlet. In seasons past, the Islanders have found themselves at the top of the Western League standings.

Yet, Coronado’s in-league record is 1-1-1. That record would slip further after losses in their last two matches to Patrick Henry High School and the Academy of Our Lady of Peace.

For their first of the two matches at home against Patrick Henry, things got away from the Lady Islanders as they were routed by the final 5-1.

For the first 25 minutes of the Islanders match-up against the Patriots, Coronado more than held their own. In the third and fifth minutes, Coronado would work a pair of dangerous balls down the near sideline thanks to excellent runs by Maya Oden and Katie Collins.

Another opportunity would arise in the seventh after an excellent ball from Brooklyn Parma would give Oden a chance near the top of the box. Unfortunately, Patrick Henry would do well to clear it and neutralize the opportunity.

However, from the tenth minute on, Coronado struggled to find and maintain possession on offense and, as a result, placed a rather significant burden on their backline to hold things level. The Islanders’ defense would have a good chunk of the first half to their credit.

Grace Pelletier and Madie Collins both do a good job of crashing and clearing balls along the right wing and at the top of the box. Maren Hawley also did an excellent job of coming down from her spot at the center-mid to help generate stops in the 13th and 17th minutes.

While the Islanders’ defense would initially stand firm, things would change dramatically from the 25th minute on, as over the final 15 minutes of the first half, Patrick Henry would erupt for three goals to take a 3-0 lead into the break.

The 3-0 lead continued to be built upon in the second half, as they netted two more goals in the late stages. Yet, even with the game well out of reach, the Islanders’ battle did not fade. Just two minutes later in the 72nd, Coronado would find its lone goal on the night as Oden laced a low runner past the Patriots goalie from just outside the box to make, at the time, a 4-1 game.

The Islanders’ loss to Patrick Henry would be followed by a 3-1 loss to Academy of Our Lady of Peace just two days later.

For the Islanders’ match against the Academy of Our Lady of Peace, things started off promising enough as the game was pinched tight at 1-1 at the end of the first half. The first half and eventual lone goal for the Islanders would come courtesy of sophomore Amelia Whittemore.

Ultimately, though, two goals in the second half by the Pilots would prove to be the difference as the Islanders’ league record would slide to 1-3-1 on the year.

Coronado will return to action this week with two more league matches: the first, a road bout with rivals Point Loma High School on January 29, and the second, a home match on January 31 against Cathedral Catholic.