Saturday, October 11, 2008

Lady Tigers are now 4-0 in 5-5A

Belen falls in 6-4A opener vs. Hawks

News-Bulletin reports

Workouts this week on the turf of the Willie Chavez Field football surface proved helpful for the Lady Tigers, who won on Highland's new artificial turf 2-1 on Thursday to improve to 4-0 in District 5-5A. In attaining what might be the best district start in girls soccer in school history, the Tigers (11-4 overall) have now beaten all their 5-5A opponents once.

Los Lunas hosts Rio Grande on Saturday for a 1 p.m. match, and will travel to Manzano on Tuesday for a 3 p.m. contest.

"The field is a little fast, but it's the ball bouncing over our defense's heads that's a real challenge," said LLHS coach James Torres regarding Highland's turf. "It was a well-played match by both sides, and we learned we have to mark on No. 17 better, and not give her any room."

Torres is referring to Highland junior Taylor Dennis, who scored in the 77th minute to make the score 2-1. The Tigers had scored in the opening moments of the match on a goal by Randi Ryan, assisted by Marie Ipock.

Los Lunas, tied for fifth in Class 5A in this week's nmsoccer.com coaches poll, got its second and most important goal in the 21st minute. Marissa Carrasco crossed a ball that a Highland defender misplayed, and her sister, Olivia Carrasco, chased down the ball and beat Hornet goalkeeper Shayna Lentz for a 2-0 Tiger lead.

Los Lunas hasn't started district play 4-0 in any year dating to 1998, and it's possible their 2008 mark is the best in team history.

Both teams managed only five shots on goal apiece, as dribbling the ball on the turf looked difficult as well. The Hornets (7-8, 1-3) missed some excellent second-half chances.

Volcano Vista 2, Belen 0

In the District 6-4A opener for both teams, the Volcano Vista girls soccer team went on the road and shut out Belen.

"I think this long break we had wasn't good for us," Belen coach Melissa Jaramillo said after her team's first match in 13 days. "We were in a flow of having back-to-back games, and then we stopped. I wished we didn't have that. We didn't play bad, but we could have played better."

Volcano Vista improved to 10-5 overall and 1-0 in district, while Belen fell to 10-5 and 0-1.

"I was so nervous for this district game, and I think the girls may have been nervous, so their play dropped," Jaramillo said. "Being as this is my first year coaching, it's hard for me because I'm used to be in there playing, and now I can't do anything. It's really nerve-wracking for me."

In the 37th minute, Olivia Ferrier sent a pass from the right side of the penalty box, where Alyssa Coonrod held the ball for a second before firing a shot past Belen goalkeeper Desirae Saiz and into the top right corner of the net.

That was all the scoring the Lady Hawks would need, as the Lady Eagles were unable to get on the board.

Volcano Vista added an insurance goal in the 68th minute, when Renee Romero knocked in Emma Fenske's corner kick.

Saiz had eight saves, and Justine Stambaugh had two for the Eagles. Hawks keeper Dominique Larribas made six saves.

Belen will head to Grants on Saturday for a match against the Lady Pirates at 11 a.m. before returning home to play St. Pius on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Del Norte 7, Valencia 2

In the District 5-4A opener for both teams, host Del Norte scored six first-half goals and cruised to victory over Valencia.

"We didn't play well in the first half, and in the second half, we held them, 1-1," Valencia coach Kimberly Chavez-Burkhart said. "They played better, but they just need to learn that they have to play hard the entire game."

The Lady Knights got on the board right away with Jamie Fletcher's goal in the second minute. Jaime Fletcher converted a penalty kick in the seventh minute, and Jennifer Raymer scored three minute later.

Alex Portillo, Ashley Remy and Alyssa Johnston all scored first-half goals to open up a 6-0 lead.

The Lady Jaguars finally scored in the 36th minute on Molly Holliday's goal, assisted by Charla Becerra, to cut the deficit to 6-1 going into halftime.

Each team scored once in the second half, with Del Norte getting a goal from Raymer one minute into the half and Holiday recording an unassisted goal for Valencia in the 70th minute.

Valencia goalkeeper Molly Sharpe made five saves, and the Jaguars had four shots on goal.

Moriarty 5, Valencia 0

The Lady Jaguars dropped their second straight District 5-4A match, getting shut out at home by Moriarty.

"We've proven time and time again that we're a second half team," Valencia coach Kimberly Chavez-Burkhart said. "The first half, we were sloppy and got beat to every ball. Second half, they started coming together a little, and they ran out of time."

Valencia (4-10 overall, 0-2 District 5-4A) gave up two early goals to Megan Bond and Melanie Armijo in the fifth and 12th minutes, respectively, to give the Lady Pintos (7-8, 1-1) a 2-0 lead.

Armijo added another goal in the 29th minute when she headed Savannah Barros' corner kick past Jaguar keeper Molly Sharpe and into the top right corner of the net.

Moriarty took a 4-0 lead into halftime after Barros scored in the 35th minute because Valencia was unable to clear the ball from the penalty box.

The Lady Pintos scored once in the second half before the game was called in the 73rd minute due to darkness.

Sharpe had 12 saves, while the Jaguars managed just two shots on goal.

Valencia will host Albuquerque Academy on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Academy has already defeated Belen this season by a 7-0 margin.

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