 Two
weeks after first win of the season, Lady Jags win two in a row
in soccer
Photo: Cathy Schwickert / for
The Roadrunner
Hannah Sanders gets away from the San Dieguito defense.
By DAN KIDDER
Nearly two weeks after earning its first win
of the season, the Valley Center varsity girls soccer team is
now on a two-game winning streak after a pair of victories this
week.
After a rough start to the season, the Lady Jaguars
won 2–0 at Ramona on Jan. 13 to get into the win column
for the first time this year. As the defense continued to improve
throughout the season, the team moved closer and closer to getting
on track.
This week, the Lady Jags put together a pair
of outstanding games to beat two good teams, San Dieguito and
Orange Glen.
The week began on Wednesday at home against San
Dieguito, and despite missing a pair of key players, the Lady
Jaguars came together in the second half to score the game-winner
in a 2–1 victory.
San Dieguito ran the field well early in the
first half, finding openings in the defense and putting shots
on goal. The Lady Jags were missing team captain Melina Much and
outstanding striker Melina Heredia, but Valley Center keeper Taylor
Yates kept the ball out of the net on numerous San Dieguito chances.
The game was scoreless until midway through the
half, when the Lady Mustangs took advantage of a turnover in the
Valley Center end and put a shot past the diving goalie to take
a 1–0 lead.
With San Dieguito continuing to put pressure
on the Lady Jaguar defense, the Valley Center offense stepped
up to even the score with nine minutes left in the half. Leina
Villamez found Vanessa Heredia with a perfect pass, and Heredia
juked out the keeper to put in an easy goal that tied the score
at one.
After an impassioned halftime speech by senior
team captain Hannah Sanders, the Lady Jaguars battled hard through
the second half. Yates made save after save in the Valley Center
goal and the Lady Jaguars used their speed to put pressure on
the Lady Mustangs at the other end.
Finally, with just over five minutes left in
the game, the Lady Jags were awarded a free kick from just outside
the 25-yard line. Ashley Nuñez hit a pin-point shot with
her left foot that found the side netting on the far side of the
goal to put Valley Center up for good.
“The girls did it themselves,” head
coach Joe Montoya said after the game. “They’re starting
to learn how to play stronger on defense, and we moved some people
around on the back line, and they’re getting more confident
back there. We need everybody to be able to play every role out
there, and they’re starting to put it all together.
“Hannah [Sanders] took on that leadership
role and has really stepped up,” he added. “We’ve
got a young team, so a lot of the girls aren’t used to playing
at this level. But Hannah has been organizing team dinners and
getting them together for some real bonding time, and that’s
made a big impact.”
The Lady Jaguars continued the outstanding play
at home against Orange Glen on Friday, exploding for a huge lead
in the first half en route to taking a 5–1 win.
Valley Center scored four goals in the opening
half and led by three at halftime. The Lady Jags added another
goal in the second half and kept Orange Glen off the board to
seal the big win.
Melina Heredia finished with a pair of goals,
while Julia Stone, Vanessa Heredia and Savannah Reilly each added
a goal. Sanders and Nuñez distributed the ball very effectively
and ended up with a pair of assists each, while Alexa Layne also
picked up an assist in the win.
The Lady Jaguars are now 3–9–3 overall,
but have bounced back in league play to post a 2–2 record
so far. Next up, they host Mission Vista on Wednesday at 3:30
p.m. and Canyon Crest on Friday at 5:15 p.m.
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