PHS girls beat Monache

Rivalries can obviously be seen through different eyes on opposite sidelines. For the Porterville High girls soccer team, a sweet feeling of finally breaking through came when Sabreena Vallin scored on a free kick to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead on Thursday at Rankin Stadium.

For Monache coach Peter Schalembier, it was hard to keep his frustration in check after what he thought was a tight call to say the least in a physical game that led to the winning goal.

“I’m very proud of the effort, very, very disappointed in the referee,” Schalembier said. “That’s just the way I feel right now.”

Porterville (5-3 in the East Yosemite League) coach Carlos Bravo did not the nature of the game when he said, “It was a physical game both ways.” But Bravo also noted, “I knew it was going to come down to who made the first goal.”

For about 67 minutes, it was unknown who was going to score first as the game remained scoreless. But to the chagrin of Schalembier in a physical game, Monache was called for a push in the back. That led to Vallin’s free kick from about 30 yards and Vallin perfectly placed her shot just underneath the crossbar.

Monache’s best chance to score came shortly before Vallin’s goal when Elisabeth Gomez sent a long-range shot that missed just wide. Just before Gomez barely missed, Porterville’s best chance before Vallin’s goal came when Monache goalie Jordan Canale just beat Porterville’s Elicia Alvarez to the ball as the two collided.

Monache (4-4 in the EYL) had one last chance just as time was running out as Yayaira Garcia sent a ball forward to Danica Taylor, who broke away, forcing PHS goalie Rochelle Lupio to come out, but Taylor just missed wide on her shot.

Schalembier thought a penalty could have been called against Lupio as Lupio made contact with Taylor just as she was shooting, which could have possibly led to a penalty kick or at least a free kick as the sequence happened just at the edge of the box. “At the end, that was definitely a penalty,” Schalembier said.

But Schalembier also noted that Porterville is a solid team. “They have a good team,” Schalembier said.

And Bravo noted the strength of his defenders, Tori Cox, Monica Zavala, Cynthia Alcantar and Jeannette Sevilla. “Our defense played very well,” he said.

Rivalries can obviously be seen through different eyes on opposite sidelines. For the Porterville High girls soccer team, a sweet feeling of finally breaking through came when Sabreena Vallin scored on a free kick to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead on Thursday at Rankin Stadium.

For Monache coach Peter Schalembier, it was hard to keep his frustration in check after what he thought was a tight call to say the least in a physical game that led to the winning goal.

“I’m very proud of the effort, very, very disappointed in the referee,” Schalembier said. “That’s just the way I feel right now.”

Porterville (5-3 in the East Yosemite League) coach Carlos Bravo did not the nature of the game when he said, “It was a physical game both ways.” But Bravo also noted, “I knew it was going to come down to who made the first goal.”

For about 67 minutes, it was unknown who was going to score first as the game remained scoreless. But to the chagrin of Schalembier in a physical game, Monache was called for a push in the back. That led to Vallin’s free kick from about 30 yards and Vallin perfectly placed her shot just underneath the crossbar.

Monache’s best chance to score came shortly before Vallin’s goal when Elisabeth Gomez sent a long-range shot that missed just wide. Just before Gomez barely missed, Porterville’s best chance before Vallin’s goal came when Monache goalie Jordan Canale just beat Porterville’s Elicia Alvarez to the ball as the two collided.

Monache (4-4 in the EYL) had one last chance just as time was running out as Yayaira Garcia sent a ball forward to Danica Taylor, who broke away, forcing PHS goalie Rochelle Lupio to come out, but Taylor just missed wide on her shot.

Schalembier thought a penalty could have been called against Lupio as Lupio made contact with Taylor just as she was shooting, which could have possibly led to a penalty kick or at least a free kick as the sequence happened just at the edge of the box. “At the end, that was definitely a penalty,” Schalembier said.

But Schalembier also noted that Porterville is a solid team. “They have a good team,” Schalembier said.

And Bravo noted the strength of his defenders, Tori Cox, Monica Zavala, Cynthia Alcantar and Jeannette Sevilla. “Our defense played very well,” he said.