As many McKinleyville High coaches will tell you, it’s never easy playing rival Arcata for reasons not every North Coast fan is aware of.

On Saturday, the Panthers traveled to play the Tigers in girls soccer and lost 2-0 on a muddy Arcata field.

But the conditions weren’t the only thing the McKinleyville players had to battle, with many McKinleyville based student athletes choosing to go to Arcata High in recent years.

“It’s always tough to lose to Arcata, because I think they have an unfair advantage in the section, having so many club players and five of them from McKinleyville,” Mack head coach Adam Canepa said. “They cut nine players at tryouts and McKinleyville only had 11 players at tryouts, and we’ve had to forfeit (games).

“One day I hope we can fix the problem so we can have a more competitive league.

“I think it’s unfair for McKinleyville because it’s not just soccer, it happens in other sports, and I feel like I have to say something finally.

“We lost five players (to Arcata this season), and when your school only has 500 people, McKinleyville is never going to be able to compete against the bigger schools unless something changes.”

The Panthers had just 12 players suit up for Saturday’s game, including a volleyball player who came out to play soccer this weekend for the first time since she was six-years-old, the coach said. 

The game itself was somewhat sloppy because of the conditions, but the Tigers secured the all-important win to keep their championship hopes on track.

“A real mud fest,” is how Arcata head coach Matt Ingram described it. “Both teams struggled to stay on their feet.”

Goals from Ava Deyhim and Zalayshia Velazquez secured maximum points for the home team.

The victory was the sixth straight in conference for the Arcata girls, as they inched towards a conference title with one game remaining.

The Tigers improved to 6-1-1 and now have 19 points (three for a win and one for a tie), with Fortuna in second with a record of 4-1-2 (14 points) heading into a Saturday night showdown against Eureka.

Arcata and Fortuna are scheduled to play each other in both teams’ conference finale on Tuesday.

The Panthers, to their credit, pushed the Tigers all the way and the game was tied until midway through the second half.

Arcata would add a late goal to help seal the win.

“I think we played really well,” Canepa said. “We kept our energy up the entire game.”

The conditions didn’t help either team, and drainage continues to be a problem for the Arcata field, which is only open a few years and had standing water on the surface, according to Canepa. 

Goalkeeper Taylor Wade had a good game for the visitors, including making a key first-half diving save.

In front of her, the center back pairing of Amara Som and Claire Creps held a dangerous Arcata front line in check for much of the afternoon.

The always dangerous Grace Pimentel and Emily Mather also impressed for the Panthers, as each has been doing for much of the season, while freshman McKenna McConnell continues to shine and play beyond her years in a variety of positions.

“I think she’s shown a lot of improvement in the second half of the season,” Canepa said of the versatile youngster.

Saturday was senior day for the Tigers.

“Congratulations to them for winning on their senior day,” Canepa said.

The Panthers will honor their seniors before a home game against Eureka on Tuesday night in the school stadium.