Stallions get upset playoff victory

Madera South girls soccer freshman Aliah Avila scored a goal midway through the first half and put the pressure on host Bakersfield during a Div. II Central Section first-round match.

Kaila Gutierrez added another goal for the 10th-seeded Stallions for a 2-1 victory over No. 7 Bakersfield on Wednesday.

“We were surprised with how we played today,” head coach Ramon Delgadillo said. “We played really well against Clovis, but I think we played that well tonight. The girls stepped up.”

Avila scored her goal midway through the first half on a direct kick. From there, the Stallions kept the Drillers off the scoreboard.

“The girls continued to work hard,” Delgadillo said. “They were blocking shots. They were putting a lot of pressure on Bakersfield. We worked on pressuring all this week and they stopped a lot shots.”

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Gutierrez gave the Stallions a 2-0 lead.

“After that, it was just going back and forth,” Delgadillo said.

Bakersfield added a goal with five minutes left in the match to add some worry to Delgadillo.

“I was a little worried, but I dropped down to five defenders,” he said. “I put Kaila back to defend.”

The Stallions next face No. 2 Tulare Union on Friday.

“They are really motivated,” Delgadillo said. “Winning a playoff game is big for us. They are looking forward to give good competition to Tulare Union.”