Defending champs rout in home opener
It didn’t take long for the defending Div. II girls soccer Valley Champions to score in their home opener and they kept scoring until the final whistle sounded in Memorial Stadium.
The Stallions, back-to-back Valley Champions, scored in the eighth minute and in the 80th minute for an 11-0 rout of Chowchilla, debuting its new nickname, the Tribe.
“I think we were more skilled than they were,” head coach Ramon Delgadillo said. “We talked about slowing down the game and controlling the tempo. When they have the opportunity, finish it.”
Five players scored goals for the Stallions, led by four from Angelica “Gigi” Gutierrez. Sabrina Ibrahim and Itzel Rodriguez scored two in the first half. Julie Marroquin added two more in the second half, along with a goal from Rachel Ramirez.
“One of the things I’m trying to do is rotate players to get people to play other positions,” Delgadillo said.
The Stallions actually scored a goal 30 seconds into the match with Gutierrez finding the back of the net, but she was offside and the goal was disallowed.
Madera South struck in the eighth minute. Ramirez took the ball to the left side and centered the ball to Gutierrez in the middle. She touched the ball to her right for Ibrahim, who scored into the upper right corner of the goal.
Nine minutes later, Connie Hernandez shot on goal, but the ball was knocked out. Rodriguez was there for the rebound and knocked it over the keeper for a 2-0 lead.
In the 27th minute, Gutierrez settled the ball in the middle and sent a shot on goal from about 25 yards out. She found the upper right corner for the goal and a 3-0 lead.
Madera South then scored a pair of goals within a minute of each other. Maria Leal got the ball in the middle and touched the ball up front for Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, on the right side, shot into the left corner for a 4-0 lead. After a steal in Chowchilla’s end, Gutierrez settled the ball in the middle and shot from 20 yards out into the left corner for a 5-0 lead with 10 minutes left in the half.
The Stallions weren’t done for the half. In the 33rd minute, Gutierrez sent the ball inside to Ibrahim, who shot from the middle on goal. The ball was deflected to the right side of the net for a goal and a 6-0 lead at the half.
“I told them to pass the ball around,” Delgadillo said. “Don’t score on give-and-gos. If it comes on a play like a corner kick or a long kick, then there’s nothing we could do about it. We tried to avoid scoring after that.”
Thirteen minutes into the second half, the Stallions had a prime opportunity to score. Ibrahim’s header off a corner kick hit the bottom of the crossbar and came out. Gutierrez’s rebound shot off her body was blocked by the Chowchilla goalkeeper.
However, in the 24th minute, the Stallions added to their lead. Ibrahim sent a corner kick to the middle of the goal over the Chowchilla keeper. Gutierrez was right there and headed the ball in for her third goal of the match.
A minute later, Ibrahim and Gutierrez struck again off a corner kick, this time Gutierrez was about five yards in front of the net with her header for an 8-0 lead.
Ramirez shot just outside of the goalkeeper’s box into the upper right corner of the net for a 9-0 lead in the 32nd minute.
Defender Marroquin sent a long, high shot that just went under the crossbar to get the Stallions into double-figures in the 37th minute.
In the final minute of the match, Marroquin did it again, this time off a free kick over the keeper for the final goal of the evening.
Madera South played at Clovis North on Tuesday and will play in the Harold S. Young Tournament at Buchanan-Clovis on Friday and Saturday.
