Stallions, Hawks advance in playoffs
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Liberty forward Raina Wristen scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 overtime victory over Hanford in the Div. III quarterfinals Thursday.
Although not entirely happy with its No. 6 seeding in the Div. III girls soccer playoffs, the Liberty Hawks pulled out a 2-1 overtime victory over No. 3 seed Hanford in the quarterfinals.
With the win Thursday, the defending back-to-back Valley Champion Hawks advance to the semifinals and will host No. 7 Ridgeview-Bakersfield after they defeated second-seeded Independence-Bakersfield 4-3. Kick-off will be at 6 p.m.
The Hawks scored in the fifth minute off a goal from Holly Strong, but Hanford tied it later in the half.
Both teams couldn’t find the back of the net in the second half and the second half of overtime. However in the 99th minute, or final minute of the second half of the first overtime, the Hawks scored the go-ahead goal. Jordan Alexander sent a ball to top-goal scorer Raina Wristen. She turned around her defender and beat the Hanford sweeper. Wristen shot by the oncoming goalkeeper for the game-winner.
Madera South The Madera South Stallions boys soccer team advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals after a 3-1 first-round victory over No. 12 Roosevelt-Fresno.
The win advanced the Stallions to the quarterfinals in Memorial Stadium, hosting No. 13 Tulare, who defeated No. 4 Fresno, on Wednesday.
With a win Friday, the Stallions will play Tuesday with the opponent and place to be announced. The Stallions scored a pair of goals in the first half. Alexis Castro scored on a header off a corner kick from Christian Garcia. Miguel Barraza scored the second goal on an assist by Anibal Santana. Madera South picked up another goal from Barraza in the second half and the Rough Riders scored their lone goal late in the second half.
“Our boys started off nervous, which caused this game to be intense for the first 20 minutes, but after we scored our first two goals, our boys gained some composure and sealed the win,” head coach Fernando Delgadillo said. “We had some impressive performances by defender Alexis Castro, who scored and swept a goal off the line to keep the game at 2-0. Also a great performance from our center midfielder Miguel Barraza, who showed up to play when we needed a playmaker.”
Madera After getting an upset victory in the first round, the Coyotes girls soccer team lost 1-0 to a second half goal to County/Metro Athletic Conference rival Sanger on Thursday.
The No. 13 seeded Coyotes traveled to Visalia and handed No. 4 El Diamante a 3-0 loss in the first round.
However, they Coyotes couldn’t find that magic Thursday in a loss to No. 5 seed Sanger.
