One streak fell. Two are still alive.
East Union High’s girls soccer team made it seven straight wins — all by shutout — at Manteca Wednesday, scoring twice in the second half for the 2-0 victory that caps a superb first-half run through the Valley Oak League for the Lancers.
They have outscored conference opponents, 29-0.
Manteca (5-1-1, 11-4-2 overall) had a streak of eight consecutive shutouts snapped in the eighth minute and now trails the VOL leaders by four points in the standings.
Marissa King led a counterattacking run on the right side and centered the ball to Isela Rivera, who pushed it forward to Regina Dias for the ice breaker.
Rivera doubled the lead in the 23rd minute, when Selena daSilva fired a corner kick and found the sophomore sensation on the opposite for a right-foot volley.
“We’re just taking it a half at a time and a practice at a time,” said Coach Jim Todd, who is looking to lead East Union to its first league championship since 2001. “We feel like we have a very good program. This is where we want to be at this point in the season, but there is still work ahead of us.”
The Lancers (7-0, 13-1-2) dominated the first half and outshot Manteca 14-3 overall. There were few scary moments for goalie Adrieanna Wood (two saves) and the stingy back line — starring Kianna Lamont and Rebekah Bonds on the wings and Rachel Sianez at sweeper — but they skillfully abated every threat.
“We all have this bond with each other,” Sianez said. “We work hard to support each other. We are proud of (the shutout streak) but we’re also modest about it.”
Manteca’s first shot was its best.
In the first minute of action, Sialei Manuleleua connected with Esmeralda Cuenca with a diagonal pass toward the left corner. Cuenca got behind a defender and tried to chip the ball over Wood, who was able to deflect the ball away from danger.
That was the Buffaloes’ only shot of the opening half. Early in the second, Manuleleua, working off a nice 1-2 combination sequence with Chenayi Tavaziva, had an open look from about 25 yards out but blew it well over the goal.
Manteca played much better in the second half, keeping possessions and building some nice attacking runs that were a touch or two away from possibly converting.
“Anytime you’re playing a team the caliber of East Union you want to jump up on them early,” Manteca coach Justin Coenenberg said. “We had the opportunity but it didn’t happen for us. Defensively our goal was to not get into a shootout with them, and those two mistakes in the first half obviously hurt us.
“I was a little worried about how the girls would react after (previously) not getting scored on in league. In the first half we struggled a little bit but they didn’t quit. I was happy with the way we played in the second half.”
A surprise guest appearance from the sprinklers alleviated some of the tension from what was a physical contest. Players were sprayed with about 10 minutes ago, leading to a 13-minute break in action.
“It was a concern,” Todd said. “The area around our goal was very slippery, so we hunkered back a little bit defensively.”
Frosh-soph
East Union 4, Manteca 0
Claudia Arevalo, Estephany Jauregui, Alivia Lemay and Maddie Ysalva each contributed a goal, and Taylor Gray secured the shutout at goal.
