Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Lady Tigers 5th, Lady Jags 7th at Artesia tourney

John Gale News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jgale@news-bulletin.com

Both the Los Lunas and Valencia High School girls soccer teams opened their season in Artesia over the weekend, and both ended the tournament with a record of 2-1.

The Lady Tigers took third place in the tournament, while the Lady Jaguars took fifth.

Los Lunas

Los Lunas shut out Goddard on Friday in the first round, taking a 3-0 win. Randi Ryan, Brook Serrano and Jackie Candelaria scored a goal apiece, while Marie Ipock and Ryan each had an assist.

Candelaria spent the first half in goal, making two saves, while fellow goalkeeper Bailey Ryan made three saves in the second half.

The Tigers saw the score reversed in their second game, dropping a 3-0 decision to Roswell early Saturday. Ryan had three saves in the first half, while Candelaria had four in the second.

In the third place game, Los Lunas gutted out a 1-0 win over Moriarty late Saturday. BreAna Gallegos scored the lone goal, and Serrano collected the assist.

"We saw a lot of positive things, offensively and defensively," Tigers coach James Torres said. "We were playing pretty aggressive, and we had really good possessions offensively. We communicated well and had good defensive rotations. Everyone combined together in a team effort."

Los Lunas hosted Valencia on Tuesday after the News-Bulletin's deadline to go to press. They play at Gallup on Thursday at 4 p.m.

Valencia

Valencia played its first-ever varsity match against Kirtland Central on Friday. The Jaguars played the first half to a 0-0 draw, but they surrendered four second-half goals to lose 4-0. Goalkeeper Molly Sharpe had eight saves in a losing effort.

"The whole team broke down in the second half," Valencia coach Kimberly Chavez-Burkhart said. "The other team wanted it more. They got down, after they scored a lucky goal."

Valencia rebounded later in the day against Robertson. The match remained scoreless until Janae Yalch broke the tie in the 75th minute.

With just a few minutes to go, the Jaguars were poised to record their first win in their history, but the Lady Cardinals tied the match with about two minutes left in the second half. The match was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation and went into a shootout.

Sharpe had eight saves in regulation.

Brenda Reyes, Sharpe, Yalch and Alexa Padilla each made their shots. Robertson made its first three, but the fourth attempt sailed wide of the net, and Valencia had its first win.

The Jaguars turned in their strongest performance yet in the late match, a 3-1 win over Silver City, nearly shutting out the Lady Colts before losing the shutout on a last-minute penalty kick.

Molly Holliday dominated the match, recording a hat trick in accounting for all three VHS goals. Yalch got an assist, and Sharpe had nine saves.

"Overall, I think it went well," Chavez-Burkhart said regarding the tournament. "These were our first games playing varsity. I think we got the jitters out. We had a breakdown, but we learned from it, and we got better. Come our last game, they came together as a team, and they're playing as a team. I think everyone improved."

Valencia played at Los Lunas on Tuesday after News-Bulletin press time. Los Lunas is set to travel to Gallup on Thursday for a 4 p.m. match.

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