Soccer Round-Up: Varsity teams open league play with strong showings against Kaiser
Boys win 4-0, girls tie 2-2 as both teams get excellent performances from key players
Laura Yanez fights for the ball against the Kaiser Cats. The match ended in a 2-2 tie.
Colton, CA—It was a big night for both varsity soccer teams on Wednesday as they opened their league play schedules against the Kaiser Cats. Boys varsity, on the road at Kaiser High in Fontana, dominated the Cats with a 4-0 victory. The girls, playing at home in Memorial Stadium, were forced into a 2-2 tie.
Boys varsity soccer (4) at Kaiser (0)
Last night, the boys soccer team defeated the Kaiser Cats 4-0 in their first Sunkist league game of the season.
The Yellowjackets dominated the first half, keeping possession of the ball, which gave the Cats a hard time. Yahir Rodriguez fired up the scoreboard with the game’s first goal. Julio Soberanes also put his name in the score sheet, making it 2-0 before halftime.
In the second half, Miguel Marcelo, also wanting some action, finished the game by scoring two goals to make the final 4-0.
The Yellowjackets had a great defensive game, making it a struggle for the Cats to get through for any shots on goal. Manuel Alonso had an outstanding game, feeding the ball to Marcelo, Soberanes, and Rodriguez for 3 assists.
“This team looks very promising,” Alonso said. “I’m happy for all of the hard work we’ve been putting in these last one and half months. It’s been paying off and hopefully we can come back as league champs this season.”
With this victory, the Yellowjackets are now tied for the Sunkist League lead with Summit High. Colton is 1-0-0 (8-1-1 overall) and Summit 2-0-0 (5-1-1 overall). On Friday, they will take their shot at sole possession of first place as they face off against Summit at home. Game time is 5:45 p.m.
Girls varsity soccer (2) vs. Kaiser (2)
The Colton girls varsity soccer team had a grueling, physical match Wednesday against Kaiser, resulting in a 2-2 tie.
Kaiser landed the first blow by scoring the first goal on a penalty kick which brought goalie Joleena Silberman too far outside her first box, allowing kaiser to cross it over and score. The first half ended with Kaiser in control with a 1-0 lead.
The second half started out with a bang as Colton’s Alyssa Ramirez got yellow carded for fouling a player inside the goalkeeper’s box. Silberman played strong, blocking the penalty kick.
A back-and-forth match followed as both teams took many shots. Laura Yanez finally evened the game with an amazing shot and goal at the 17 minute mark of the second half.
Colton continued the attack, then scored their second goal on a tap-in by Yanez on a dramatic cross by Jazlynn Gonzalez, who sprinted down the field with the defenders hot on her trail. This put the Yellowjackets up 2-1 with 15 minutes to play.
The game became twice as physical in the last 10 minutes. Tiffany Abril received a yellow card alongside a Kaiser player. On the last play of the game, Kaiser had a free kick from right outside Colton’s goalkeeper box. The Kaiser player crossed the ball instead of shooting and her teammate tapped it in to secure the tie.
This tie places the Yellowjackets in third place in the San Andreas league to start the season with a record of 0-0-1 (3-1-2 overall). They are behind first place Arroyo Valley (1-0-0, 7-2-1 overall) and second place Summit (1-1-0, 5-3-0 overall). Tomorrow they will take on Summit in Fontana for a big league match. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
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