Girls soccer: Mustangs affirm third-place standing in WAC

Though the margin of victory wasn’t as decisive as the Mustangs’ 6-0 win over Davis on Dec. 7, Head Coach Juan Ramos and his players said that the team continues to see steady progress with room to improve in their drive toward playoffs.

“We’re still looking for that connection: Instead of booting the ball up too much, connecting in the middle with all of our players and building from the back and up,” Ramos said. “We saw that in the first 20 minutes of the game, and then something happened and we couldn’t get it back. There were a few times here and there where we did get it back, but not to my liking.”

The Mustangs stayed in control on offense through most of the first half with sophomore Jayden Reynolds and junior Sofia Ramos up front and senior Brooke Gale setting up attacks from midfield.

The Mustangs scored in the 20th minute when Reynolds collected a pass up the middle and took a long shot at the goal. The Davis goalie got a hand on the ball, but it was too high for her to make the stop and the ball continued into the goal. It was one of the Mustangs’ six shots on goal in the first half, which Reynolds said affirms the team’s continuing effectiveness on offense.

“There was a lot of really good connection throughout the game from our midfield and it led to a lot of opportunities behind their back line,” she said.

Juniors Sophia Ramish and Fuatai Mose also contributed to the Mustangs’ offensive efforts in the first half, though by the end of the period the Spartans figured out how to launch their counterattacks.

Davis established its offensive momentum early in the second half, but the Mustangs created their second scoring opportunity in the 49th minute when Reynolds passed to Sofia Ramos in the middle.

“Our team has a really good way of capitalizing on the other team’s mistakes, and before the game started we recognized that their defense had a hard time staying together,” Reynolds said. “We knew that if we got behind their back line that we would have an open shot, so when Sofia played me the ball I looked for her instead of crossing the ball and she was right there to take the shot.”

It wasn’t a clear shot, but Ramos fired it past a couple of defenders to put the ball in the net.

Ramos said afterward that her team builds on every game, with players learning from each success or mistake.

“Our team is very constructive. One person will give constructive criticism to one another and we listen a lot. When we mistakes we always grow from them and we use that in our next games. That really helps us,” she said.

The Mustangs got close a few more times but the Spartans also increased their counterattacks. Senior goalkeeper Andrea Coronado blocked a shot in the 60th minute but the Davis offense stayed persistent. Coronado deflected another shot and Davis followed the ball in from the right side to cut the Mustangs’ lead to 2-1.

Both teams made effective attacks in the final minutes, with Davis taking a shot that missed just to the left of the post and Mountain House responding with a breakaway attack. A foul gave the Mustangs a free kick in the final minute, with the ball missing high.

Kimball 6, Sierra 1

After playing to a 1-1 tie at the half the Kimball Jaguars took control for five second-half goals, defeating the Sierra High Timberwolves of Manteca 6-1 in Valley Oak League play.

Freshman Dalia Asad Halim led the Jaguars’ offense with three goals and juniors Mia Leval and Emily Chacon and sophomore Brooklyn Vanderlipe each scored a goal.

The win puts Kimball at 4-1-2, 2-0-0 VOL, and Sierra is 7-6-0, 0-0-2 VOL.

Tracy 2, Lincoln 2

The Bulldogs traveled to Stockton on Tuesday for a 2-2 tie against the Lincoln Trojans in Tri-City Athletic League play. Lincoln (8-4-3, 0-0-2 TCAL) was up 1-0 at the half and the Bulldogs (4-2-3, 1-0-2 TCAL) scored both of their goals in the second half, including a shot from senior Savannah Cordero and another from junior Ava Coverdale, who also had an assist.

Tracy put up an effective defense, with sophomore goalie Jasmin Alvarez blocking two shots on goal.

Tracy 1, West 1

The Tracy and West girls soccer teams played to a 1-1 tie on Thursday in Tri-City Athletic League play at Tracy High’s Wayne Schneider Stadium.

West (2-5-3, 0-1-1 TCAL) got its best opportunities in the first half, first when freshman Olivia Sams had a wide-open opportunity off of a corner kick, with the shot going just over the bar. Sophomore Jessica Medina also was a big part of West’s offensive attack, and Sams scored for the Pack later in the first half on a penalty kick.

Tracy (4-2-2, 1-0-1 TCAL) scored in the second half when senior Savannah Cordero scored with an assist from sophomore Alexa Munoz. On defense Tracy sophomore goalie Jasmine Alvarez blocked three West shots.

West coach Scott Behnam credits senior Hailey Stubbles as the anchor for the Wolf Pack’s backline, which limited Tracy’s scoring opportunities. West’s defense also included seniors Josie Gomez, Ava Seguin and Nevah Shook.