Late goal downs Coyote girls soccer team
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera’s Adriana Dana tries to dribble around an Enochs defender during last week’s 1-0 loss.
With a goal in the final minutes, the Enochs-Modesto Eagles picked up a non-conference victory against the Madera Coyotes girls soccer match in the first game of a soccer doubleheader.
The undermanned Coyotes dropped a tough match even though they had plenty of chances to score despite having just five players on the bench for the first game of a soccer doubleheader with the boys’ team to follow on Dec. 28.
“I told the girls after the game, ‘Thank you for stepping up to the challenge,’” head coach Cynthia Moreno said. “I believe in the girls we have. We wanted to see who was willing to step up and take leadership. They held their own.”
The Coyotes had their chances, but couldn’t capitalize. However, Enochs had one final chance and scored a goal in the 77th minute for the win.
“It’s tough, but that’s soccer,” Moreno said. “We’re there and we couldn’t put it away. One unlucky break is the unfortunate thing. We’ve given up a couple of goals like that this season. That’s one of the things we have to keep working on.”
Madera had its first chance to score with a free kick on the right at about 22 yards away. Samantha Ruiz’s shot went outside of the far post for a corner kick, which Enochs cleared out.
In the 23rd minute, Bianca Jauregui got the ball on the left with a run in front of a defender. Her shot on goal was blocked out. Jocelyn Herrera got to the rebound, but her shot went over the goal.
Three minutes later, Herrera sent a pass in front for Adela Alvarez, but it was a little too far and the Enochs goalkeeper covered the ball up.
Madera had a free kick from about 23 yards out in the middle, but Adriana Dana shot high with four minutes left in the first half.
Enochs had the first chance to take the lead 10 minutes into the second half with a free kick from about 25 yards out. The shot was high on goal, but Emily Lopez made the block and catch to keep the shutout in tact.
Three minutes later, on a counter, Atiana Piñon got the ball on the left and took the ball to the goal. Her shot on goal was blocked out by the Enochs goalkeeper.
Neither team had a good shot on goal for the next 24 minutes.
Enochs got the ball on the right with about three minutes left in the match. The attacker dribbled by a defender and took a shot just before Lopez could converge on her. The ball went into the back of the net for the game-winning goal.
