Sierra tallied two first-half goals Wednesday and stayed in control the rest of the way in a 3-1 girls Valley Oak League Soccer win over East Union at Daniel Teicheira Memorial Stadium.
“Our plan for this game was that we needed to be prepared from the beginning of the game,” Timberwolves coach Manuel Pires said. “We struggled in the first few league games, and we really needed the three points tonight.
“I am very proud of the way the girls stepped up and showed the desire to get back on the winning track. This was not an easy game — it was a rivalry game and it’s always tough. And with the field and the weather conditions, I am super proud with how the girls stepped up.”
Lindsey Rose took a pass from Hailey Gama and powered it in from 25 yards out to put Sierra (1-2 VOL, 8-6 overall) ahead, 1-0.
“I just saw the space and I took the shot,” Rose said. “I took a pass, I did a 1v1, got by them and I had the space so I just took it.”
Three minutes later Hailey Cruz scored another long-range goal on an assist from Alani Mullenix and in the second half Amelia Hernandez made it 3-0 on a 10-yard blast assisted by Aman Dhillon.
Amanda Riggleman plays center back for the Timberwolves and anchored the Sierra defensive effort that kept the Lancers (0-2-1, 3-9-3) out of the net from the field.
“I think we did really well connecting to the feet,” Riggleman said. “We were eager to get to the ball first.
“We wanted that win tonight.”
In the 64th minute Chloe Siva connected on a penalty kick for East Union for the only Lancers goal, making the score 3-1.
“We have been struggling all year,” East Union coach Jason Silva said. “We get in holes early on in games and it is difficult to climb out of. We played soft tonight. We didn’t play with confidence and we weren’t communicating.
“It’s been a long season. We are struggling and we are trying to put the pieces together and hopefully we can get it together before playoffs and we can make a run. We are definitely better than our record, we just are not playing to our potential and we are not playing as a team. We just have to figure it out.”
The Timberwolves host Turlock on Monday at 5:45 p.m. in a non-league contest and next Wednesday night at 6:45 the Lancers travel to Tracy to take on Kimball.
Junior varsity
Sierra 4, East Union 0
Four Timberwolves scored in a balanced attack.
Sierra’s Maitland Kohoutek, Shayla Cline, Peyton Duarte and Katie Machado scored a goal apiece.
Deborah Villalobos tallied two assists for the Timberwolves. Jessica Miranda and Hannah Ferrebee added an assist apiece.
