Knotted 1-1 at the half, Escalon’s varsity soccer girls turned up the pressure and pummeled the Riverbank goal in second half play, earning a 4-1 Trans-Valley League victory.

The Thursday, Jan. 23 game hosted in Escalon saw the varsity teams squaring off on the JV field, which was in better condition following some rainy weather earlier in the week.

Goals came from Karla Cordova, Mya Beary, Alexis Barron and Georgina Gallo, with assists from Gabby Goodman and two from Beary.

“We got great defense from Natalie Cortes, Briana Briones (Chavarria), and Brianna Cerceda,” said coach Jamie Peoples.

The teams traded tallies in the first half, Cordova scoring for the Lady Cougars, but it was all Escalon as the second half played out. Riverbank hustled but the host Escalon girls had just a little bit more drive and desire, working the ball around well near the net and setting up the shots that were able to get past the Lady Bruin keeper.

Beary got the scoring started in the second half, getting the goal, then assisted on the next two, setting up Gallo on a rush up the field and getting the helper on a throw in on a ball put in the net by Barron.

While the varsity squad was on the JV field, the JV Lady Cougars were entertaining Waterford. Riverbank does not have a JV team so Escalon was able to get a non-league contest lined up. The host JV girls earned a 2-0 win against the visiting Wildcats, with goals from Sam Torres and Haylee Barajas.