By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Varsity Soccer Girls Notch Pair Of League Victories
JV LAGUNAS
Getting a foot on the ball to send it down the field in JV soccer action is Janneth Lagunas, 12, shown during a home match earlier this season. The JV girls went 1-1 in games this past week. Marg Jackson/The Times

Winning two out of three games this week, the Escalon varsity Lady Cougars put together their strongest string of soccer performances on the season.

The girls defeated Riverbank and Ripon before falling in a road game at Mountain House to go 2-1.

“We beat Riverbank 5-0 on Monday,” said head coach Jamie Peoples. “Morgan Dominguez had three goals.”

Also adding goals were Alondra Martinez and Mya Beary with assists from Kyleigh Raffety, Angelica Fernandez, Kaitlyn Castro and Martinez. Leticia Gutierrez made two saves in goal.

Then it was off to Ripon for a contest on Wednesday, Feb. 2 with the varsity girls battling to a 3-1 victory over the host Lady Indians. Raffety had one goal and Dominguez added two, giving her five tallies for the week. Martinez had two assists, Raffety chipped in with one.

Notching back-to-back wins buoyed the team, which has fought their way through a tough season, often dealing with wet, windy and muddy conditions on game day, with girls soccer making the move from spring to winter. They were on the road again Thursday, traveling to Mountain House but were unable to get past the host Lady Mustangs. Escalon fell in a 5-3 loss, finding the net but giving up too many goals on the other side of the field.

Down 4-1 at the half, Escalon held the host team to a single score in the second half and put in two of their own but couldn’t quite get even.

Raffety had a goal, assisted by Lily Franks in the first half. Second half scoring came from Martinez, getting the goal with an assist from Fernandez and then Martinez converting on a penalty kick. Gutierrez had one save.

This week, the girls were scheduled to play host to Hughson on Monday, Feb. 6 after The Times went to press and will be on the road at Modesto Christian on Wednesday, Feb. 8. They host Hilmar in their season finale on Monday, Feb. 13.

 

JV GIRLS

The young lady Cougars split their games this week, facing off on the road with Ripon and Mountain House. Riverbank does not have a JV girls team.

“Wednesday at Ripon we won 4-2,” said head coach Jen Schmidt. “Hailie Webster had two goals, assisted by Mariana Guerrero, Litcia Delgado had a goal, assisted by Mariana.”

Also scoring was Arely Ochoa, with sweeper Monserrat Rodriguez notching the assist.

“Everyone had a great game and played their best so far this season,” Schmidt said of the total team effort. “I was very proud of this win.”

Thursday at Mountain House, the JV team lost a hard-fought 1-0 decision.

No games for the JV girls this week; their final game is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 13 against Hilmar.