Coyotes finally get win over Hawks
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera’s Adriana Dana (4) and Layla Martinez (9) congratulate Jocelyn Herrera after her 30-yard shot found the back of the net for the final goal in Tuesday’s win over the Liberty Hawks.
Madera Coyotes girls soccer first-year head coach Cynthia Moreno did something that her predecessor couldn’t do — defeat the Liberty Hawks.
Moreno’s Coyotes scored three goals in the first half and another in the second half to hand the Hawks their second straight 4-0 defeat Tuesday in Memorial Stadium.
“The biggest thing was coming out with intensity to get the goals that we need to to go forward and get momentum to work on some things and adjust as we go,” Moreno said. “We’re transitioning formations. We want to find the players to fit different roles.”
Previous head coach Cameron Hill couldn’t quite get the victory over Erick Walker’s Hawks while Moreno got the win on her first try.
Walker’s Hawks, who have dominated the North Sequoia League since they joined the league, is going through a little rough patch.
“We’ve had a few lows with things,” he said. “Playing the teams we are playing in preseason is preparing for league and playing the best soccer for the end of the season.”
Walker is trying to meld new pieces, along with older pieces to go with other pieces that took off a year and are back with the team.
“We do a few team bonding things,” he said. “We’re going to the coast this weekend for a bonding thing. We want the girls to come together and trust each other on the field.”
The Coyotes tried to take the upper-hand early in the game. Samantha Ruiz had a shot on goal in the fourth minute and her shot in the 11th minute was blocked out of bounds.
Madera got on the scoreboard in the 13th minute. Anissa Garcia sent a shot on goal, but the ball bounced off Liberty goalkeeper Emily Boatright and went right to leading goal-scorer Jazzell Ruiz. Ruiz calmly sent the shot past Boatright for the early 1-0 lead.
The Coyotes struck again in the 21st minute. Layla Martinez got the ball on the left and sent the ball to the middle. Adela Alvarez touched the ball across to the right and Mia Roberts shot into a wide open net for a 2-0 lead.
Ruiz and Sheyla Posas played give-and-go a couple of minutes later, but Ruiz’s shot went wide to the right.
In the 25th minute, Posas got the ball in the middle and dribbled to the goal. She passed it back to the right where Alvarez was there to send the ball into the open net for a 3-0 halftime lead.
In the seventh minute of the second half, Liberty had a prime opportunity with a free kick on the right at about 20 yards. Kinsey McIntosh’s shot on goal as deflected to goalkeeper Jeslyn Daza.
Madera had a chance in the 10th minute when Alvarez took a free kick from about 20 yards out. She sent a shot on goal, but Boatright made the block and caught the ball for the save.
Both teams spent the next 20 minutes in midfield without a shot on goal.
In the 32nd minute, the Coyotes put the game away. Ruiz sent the ball back to Jocelyn Herrera who lofted the ball from about 30 yards out over Boatright’s head for a goal for the 4-0 victory.
