Second half goal beats Coyotes
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera’s Mariah Zapata sends a kick up the field during Friday’s 1-0 loss to the Clovis West Golden Eagles during the CMAC/TRAC Showdown.
With the way the match was going, it seemed like the Madera Coyotes girls soccer team was going to record the first County/Metro Athletic Conference victory in the CMAC/Tri-River Athletic Conference showdown.
However, Clovis West scored a goal in the 67th minute and held off numerous Madera attacks for a 1-0 victory Friday in Memorial Stadium.
“I thought we were going to get that win,” head coach Cameron Hill said. “We had some big chances tonight. The girls played hard. You can’t fault them.”
After a 2-0 loss to Buchanan-Clovis earlier in the week, the Coyotes played a better match against the Golden Eagles and had chances to score.
“I thought we played well,” Hill said. “Other than their goal, they had a couple of good chances in the first half, but in the second half, I don’t remember them doing much. We defended well, we attacked well, we had chances to score, but just couldn’t put the ball away. We had a lot of opportunities. We just didn’t finish in the final third. They tried on goal.”
Although the CMAC went 0-5 in the first CMAC/TRAC Showdown, Hill, who was the brainchild behind the showdown, was still happy with how his team did and how it will prepare them for the upcoming CMAC season.
“This is the reason we did this and had it now instead of some random time in December,” Hill said. “A lot of people have been off. This is a good game to get you ready for league. Every game is a battle. The TRAC and CMAC are the same. No matter the team is, bad or good, every game is tough.”
Five minutes into the match, the Coyotes had a chance on goal when Jazzel Ruiz got the ball in front, but shot wide left.
Madera goalkeeper Yesenia Montoya caught a high Clovis West crossing attempt in the 13th minute.
Ten minutes later, Madera’s Mariah Zapata settled the ball down in the middle and went to the left. Her 25 yard shot on goal went just outside the upper right corner.
Clovis West got a chance with three minutes left in the first half with a steal in front of the Madera goal. Its 25-yard shot went wide left to keep the match scoreless.
Just before the end of the first half, Clovis West got a corner kick. They sent the ball on goal and got a head on the ball, but the header went off the post and the rebound was lofted over the goal to keep the match scoreless at halftime.
Eight minutes into the second half, Madera had a chance on goal. Zapata sent a free kick on goal just outside of the box on the left from about 15 yards out. The ball glanced off the wall of Clovis West defenders and the ball went on goal. The ball hit off the crossbar and Madera’s rebound shot was cleared out.
In the 11th minute, Madera’s Penelopi Leach sent a pass for Jazmin Pinon, who passed it back to Leach. Leach flicked the ball back to Pinon, who shot from the right just wide on the left.
Madera kept up the pressure when Sheyla Posos controlled the ball and crossed the ball to Leach in the middle. Leach sent a pass to Zapata who tried to settle the ball. She finally settled the ball, but her shot was batted over the net.
On the ensuing corner, Zapata’s kick was batted over. On the next corner kick, Zapata’s kick was a little too high for a leaping Leach header on goal.
Madera kept attacking in the 18th minute. Leach took the ball to the end line and crossed it to Zapata, but the Clovis West keeper covered the ball up.
In the 27th minute, the Golden Eagles got on the scoreboard. Clovis West got the ball in front and took the ball to the right. The Golden Eagles’ attacker got the ball by a defender and shot as Montoya was coming out to defend. The ball went over her head and into the back of the net for the only goal of the match.
“It was a fortunate thing for them,” Hill said. “The ball hit off our defender and it stopped the ball for them. She ran onto it. We had a miscue with who was going to come out with the defender and the keeper.”
Madera got a free kick from about 23 yards on the left in the 30th minute. Zapata sent the ball to the right side, but it was blocked out. On the ensuing corner, Evangelina Garcia’s header was blocked out for Madera’s final chance of the evening.
