Only the clock could stop Manteca from scoring in its 9-0 victory over visiting Lathrop on Monday, but the efforts to support young Destiny Herrera is ongoing.
Manteca hosted the 5th Annual Kicking for a Cure event, which has raised more than $25,000 in four years. In the last two years local youth Riley Simmons and Noah Valdez benefitted from the event. The 11-year-old Herrera is stricken by a rare form of osteosarcoma.
Manteca coach Justin Coenenberg said a final tally of proceeds won’t be available until the end of the month. On Monday, the Herrera family received $1,007 from the Lathrop High soccer team. The Buffaloes are holding another event on April 28 at Chili’s, which will donate 15 percent of money spent by patrons who come with the appropriate flyer. The school is also running a “Dollars for Destiny” drive on campus to give students and teachers a chance to contribute.
Proceeds include money earned from Monday’s game via gate sales, concessions, a raffle and silent auction.
“From the looks of things, this is probably the most people we’ve had at the event,” Coenenberg said. “It’s definitely the biggest silent auction we’ve had. Every year we’re getting more efficient as a group in organizing and running the event.”
Coenenberg was also pleased with the outcome of the game itself.
Diminutive Katie Locke got the Buffaloes (8-2-1 Valley Oak League, 17-3-1 overall) rolling with a goal in the 12th minute. Ashlee Miller delivered the corner kick, and Locke headed it past Lathrop keeper Cassandra Flores off the bounce. It was the first goal of the game but also the 100th for the season, which broke the program record.
Locke later assisted the game’s final goal to Jasmine Basuil. Leah Manuelelua (two goals), Lejla Pepic (two goals, assist), Ivy Benson (goal, assist), Natalie Duran (goal) and Fechi Nkwocha (goal) also contributed to the onslaught.
The Buffaloes had many more opportunities to score, but Coenenberg was more concerned with adjusting to Lathrop’s offsides trap. They had five attacking runs called off from offsides infractions in the first half.
“We got caught with the offsides trap quite a bit in the first half but not once in the second half,” Coenenberg said. “We talked about that at halftime. We wanted to make sure our runs were horizontal and our forwards did a better job of paying attention to the lines.”
East Union 2, Kimball 0
The Lancers’ dwindling production in goals is a growing concern for head coach Victor Polanco, but the dominant effort on the defensive end has helped put his mind at ease.
East Union (11-0-0, 14-0-0) scored early in both halves Monday in Tracy. Ilena Rivera scored off an assist from sister Isabella in the fifth minute. Rosalia Ravelo buried a head shot in the 47th minute after Ilena Rivera’s initial attempt was batted away by the Kimball keeper.
“We dominated pretty much the whole game and took some nice shots, but we’re having a problem finishing,” Polanco said. “It’s something we need to go back and work on in practice.”
Oakdale 5, Sierra 2
Second-place Oakdale (8-1-2, 14-5-3) held off a spirited second-half effort from the visiting Timberwolves (2-7-2, 5-13-3).
Down 2-0 at halftime, McKenna Doyle gave Sierra a boost with a goal shortly after the break. The Timberwolves had a chance to tie it moments later but the attempt was bounced off the goal post. Sierra later scored again to make it 3-2 before the Mustangs galloped away with the victory. Ashley Arnett and Madison Feurstein each had two goals for Oakdale, and Bailey Antonio assisted three.
“We played much better in the second half than we did in the first half and had a couple of opportunities to tie it, but we don’t seem to shut down other teams when we need to,” Sierra coach Manuel Pires said. “But I am happy with the way the team competed.”
