Colton girls soccer takes SAL lead
This was meant to be in the paper today, but there was a snafu. I will say I was impressed by the Yellowjackets yesterday and the overall quality of the soccer between the two teams. But editorial comments aside, here it is..
Colton High School girls soccer coach Diego Garcia has made following shots a key point of emphasis all season, harping on it constantly.
Colton heeded its coach’s word in a showdown with San Gorgonio Tuesday and because of that, a league title may be the next thing to follow.
Roxanne Pardo’s goal on a followup from a header attempt in the 34th minute spurred the visiting Yellowjackets to a 3-0 victory over the Spartans at Phil Haley Stadium and sole possession of first place in the San Andreas League.
Denise Galaviz and Brianna Burns scored late in the second half to give the Yellowjackets (15-4-2 overall, 5-0-2 SAL) some insurance, but the key goal came thanks to a great deal of persistence.
“We talk about it in practice every day,” Garcia said. “I tell these girls how important it is to follow your shots because you create your own breaks. We’ve done well in that in the games that we’ve won.”
In a scoreless game that was even in its up-and-down nature, Colton got a free kick 40 yards out after a San G foul. Senior midfielder Paulina Hernandez, who had two assists, delivered a perfect through ball into in San G penalty box, which Pardo headed toward San G goalkeeper Chanel Abelon.
Abelon fumbled the header around, eventually letting it hit the turf. Pardo tapped it in to give Colton the lead.
“I was really surprised,” Pardo said. “I was looking to head the ball because Paulina always gives good balls. I got a good piece of it and followed it like coach said. It was a total lucky goal.”
It was a goal that stood up thanks to a physical Colton defense, which kept the Spartans (5-11-5, 4-1-2) from getting much offensive production from the forwards.
The resulting frustration boiled over in the 64th minute, as junior forward Dana Mackamul was given a red-card ejection after kicking a Colton player on the ground in a scrum. Because of the ejection, Mackamul will be sidelined for Thursday’s game at San Bernardino.
Down a man and a goal, San G was unable to generate much after that, giving up goals in the 68th and 74th minutes, respectively.
“We moved a player up after we lost Dana,” San G coach Chris Sarenana said. “I thought we fought hard and gave them a good game. Colton is a tough team and I’m proud of our effort.”