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Host Bears Claw Past Lady Cougar
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Their trip to the playoffs was short-lived, but Escalon's Lady Cougars made it a close contest at Summerville.

The soccer girls fell in a 2-1 decision in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs on the road Tuesday, May 18.

"It was a very close match, high intensity, well-officiated," said Escalon coach Craig Humrichouse. "It was what you would expect a playoff game to be."

Escalon did take the early lead, Cherie Homen scoring about midway through the first half.

"It came on a direct kick from about 30 yards out, a beautiful shot that went over the goalkeeper's head," said Humrichouse. "Cherie is one of our seniors, she'll be leaving us but she just had a great career."

Host Summerville tied the score just past the 30-minute mark of the opening half and then took the lead on a goal about 15 minutes in to the second half.

"We had many, many opportunities, we just couldn't put it in again," Humrichouse noted of second half chances for his team. "Natalie Gallego was in goal and she had six saves for us."

Among the most notable performances on the day was that of Kaity Bojorquez, who was charged with defending Summerville's top player.

"We had Kaity mark up one on one on her, she just shut her down," said Humrichouse.

Also playing solid games for the Lady Cougars were Kacey Ball and Aprille Ray.

"It was a fun match to watch and I know the girls had fun playing this season," Humrichouse said. "They (Summerville) were great hosts, they decorated our sideline with purple and gold streamers, they painted soccer balls on the field, some in their colors, some in ours."

Escalon will lose seven seniors from the team this year, the Tuesday playoff game the final match for Cherie Homen, Tiana Garcia, Severa Salazar, Leia Perruquet, London Crooker, Crystal Achterberg and Natalie Gallego. But despite losing that many players, Humrichouse said they will have a strong core of returning players that should provide a solid base for next season.

"We've got a great bunch of young kids," he said. "Juniors, we have Aprille Ray, Christina Balcita, sophomores, we have Kacey Ball, Ashley Brown, Jacki Garside, and we have our freshman, Kaity Bojorquez, plus we'll have a great bunch coming up from the JV team, so I'm definitely looking forward to next season."