Two nights after a frustrating loss at Oakdale, Sierra was determined to put forth a better showing Friday against visiting rival East Union.
The Timberwolves accomplished that in a 5-2 bounce-back victory.
Maitland Kohoutek and Leslie Reyes each had a brace, and outside back Hannah Hunt scored the first goal of the game with a banger in the third minute.
“The girls got very focused after they suffered that loss,” Sierra coach Manuel Pires said. “We knew this was not going to be an easy game. We needed to get these three points here against a good team.
“I have to give it to our girls; they definitely stepped up and put that effort out there on the field together. They were dominating most of the possession and creating a lot of opportunities. Not all of them go in, but they definitely changed their mentality from the last game.”
Although Sierra (3-1-0 Valley Oak League, 12-3-2 overall) controlled the run of play for longer stretches and had the better scoring opportunities, the Lancers (1-1-1, 7-6-2) were not the pushovers that the final scoreline may imply. It was a one-goal game until the T’wolves separated themselves with two late tallies.
East Union answered Hunt’s long-distance goal with one of its own and did so just two minutes later. Addyson Soulier crushed it from outside the penalty box after Kaylee Mejia set up the equalizer with a negative pass.
Misplayed balls from the Lancers’ back line helped Sierra regain the lead, as Kohoutek and Reyes capitalized on their counter-attacking chances in the 11th and 21st minutes.
The Timberwolves carried the 3-1 lead into halftime, but not after surviving a sudden deluge of attacking opportunities from East Union. The Lancers drastically tilted the momentum over the final five minutes of the half, attempted seven shots in that span but came up empty-handed.
Things got interesting in the 57th minute, when Gabrielle McIntosh’s tap-in closed the gap for East Union. She followed up on Soulier’s direct kick that was mishandled by Sierra goalkeeper Amaya Pacheco (four saves).
“I thought the intensity was there, they just got a couple of breaks that went their way,” EU coach Jason Silva said. “We made some mistakes, and they capitalized.
“I feel like it was back and forth. The opportunities (to score) were there, but they were able to capitalize and finish more than we did. The score ended up 5-2, but this definitely wasn’t a 5-2 game.”
Sierra had multiple chances to put the game away sooner. Shortly after McIntosh made it 3-2, center back Natalie Ruvalcaba scorched a header just wide of the right post on a perfect set-piece cross from Hailey Cruz.
Cruz later had Reyes running toward goal for a 1-on-1 with a lofted through ball, but shot went wide left.
Reyes made up for it in the 69th minute, scoring on a breakaway off a diagonal through ball from Cruz to double the lead. Kohoutek contributed the secondary assist on the play, then scored final goal in the 71st minute after Mikaela Delgado’s set-piece delivery from midfield.
“We were missing goals and then they get a little gift on that second goal and now they’re back in the game — that’s just how these games go,” Pires said. “I’m glad we were able to get those fourth and fifth goals, because we definitely deserved that.”
Cruz came into the game with an area-leading 16 goals, and though she was unable to add to her season tally — she had two great chances that bounced off the frame — the senior strike still managed to affect the game with her hold-up play and distribution.
“That’s why I tell these girls that assists are as good as goals,” Pires said. “Even though she didn’t get to score, she was definitely the one that created a lot of our opportunities. She was very key in our offense and how we played.”
Sierra hosts Patterson next Wednesday, while East Union heads to Central Catholic on Monday.
Junior varsity
Sierra 4, East Union 0
Roxy Le scored twice in the one-sided victory for Sierra.
Kaylee Rodriguez registered a goal and an assist. Isabella Cruz added a goal, Abigail Fraser pitched in an assist and goalie Abigail Garcia had one save.
