Manteca rebounded from a 3-1 semifinal loss to Lincoln-Stockton on Saturday and defeated Oakdale 4-1 for third place in the Buffalo Cup Soccer Tournament at Woodward Park.

 “We talked about not letting that loss to Lincoln define our season,” Buffaloes coach Justin Coenenberg said. “We ended up playing a league opponent and we could face those guys two or three more times.

 “It was kind of a big game for us and we kind of wanted to go out and make a statement and the girls responded well and did just that.”

 Samantha Clump got Manteca (7-1) on the board first against the Mustangs (6-4-1) the the game’s seventh minute when she took a cross from Alexa Mayen and powered it into the net. Four minutes into the second half Clump lofted a corner kick for Ashlee Miller to head in to put the Buffaloes ahead 3-1.

“Alexa Mayen just crossed the ball and I was there to finish it,” Clump said. “On the corner kick I lifted it and Ashlee (Mayen) got a header.

 “We just had to keep our heads after that first loss and focus on the next game.”

 Sweeper Avigail Mayen helped limit Oakdale to seven shots.

 “That loss (to Lincoln) motivated us,” Avigail Mayen said. “It made us hungrier.

 “We were able to come back and put some in the net and now I think we are ready for the season.” 

After the Mustangs scored to tie the game 1-1, Josie Reyes took a pass from Lejla Pepic and gave Manteca a 2-1 lead late in the first half. Natalia Duran capped the scoring midway through the second half off of a pass from Fechi Nkwocha for the 4-1 final score.

 The four games in two days took their toll on Oakdale.

 “With two games Friday and two games today, especially since it is early in the season sometimes you get a few injuries,” Mustangs coach Alfredo Quiroga said. “But I got to play everyone and the injuries should be all right.”

 “We played a tough Lincoln team this morning. They had really good speed and we haven’t seen that kind of speed this year. They went up on us 3-0 kind of quickly and we responded after making some adjustments at halftime to make it 3-1.

 Stephanie Gonzalez had the lone goal for the Buffaloes in the opening loss to Lincoln.

By virtue of going 3-1 in the tournament, Coenenberg broke into the triple-digit win column and now has 102 victories.