Local roundup: MHS girls fall, Granite girls win in OT

The Granite Hills and Monache girls soccer teams both had encouraging overtime openers to begin the East Yosemite League. For Granite, Mercedes Steidley made sure the Grizzlies wouldn’t lose.

But for Monache, the Marauders had to take a tough loss after almost crashing the East Yosemite League’s top two party which has been Tulare Western and Tulare Union. Steidley had a hat trick scoring all three goals for Granite in their 3-1 win over Delano at Rankin Stadium while Monache fell to Western 4-2 after leading 2-1 with 15 minutes left in regulation.

GRANITE 3, DELANO 1

Delano took a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick after a questionable foul call. But with 10 minutes left, Steidley sent a free kick into the net to force overtime. After a scoreless 10-minute first overtime, Steidley was taken down in the goal box twice, drawing two penalty kicks in the second 10 minutes. She converted both penalty kicks for the final margin.

“I think it came down to conditioning,” Granite Hills coach Gabe Rodriguez said. “We just kept putting the pressure on them. It was a good win for us.”

Rodriguez also praised the play of Crystal Chavez-Zavala and Debra Rodriguez. “She’s everywhere,” said the coach about Rodriguez. “She had a great night.”

Monache goalie Jordan Canale made several outstanding saves in overtime to keep the score at 2-2. But with five minutes left in the second overtime, Western took a 3-2. Western then scored an insurance goal after Monache was forced to push up offensively.

Western and Union were the top two teams in the EYL last season, but it looked like Monache was going to cut into the two schools dominance when it led 2-1. Canale also made a spectacular one-handed diving save to preserve the lead before Western tied it with 15 minutes left.

Monache tied the score 1-1 when Aren Bravo sent a ball forward to Elisabeth Gomez, who sent a shot from just outside the goal box into the upper left corner of the net.  Breanna Guzman then scored on a spectacular shot from the left side, sending the ball just under the crossbar to give the Marauders a 2-1 lead.

Monache’s best chance to score in the first half came Naomi Hernandez beat a defender, but was stopped when the goalie came out. Danica Taylor and Nadya Kasimoff also played well defensively for Monache.

“The whole team worked very hard for this,” Monache coach Peter Schalembier said. “They all did a tremendous job.”

MONACHE BOYS 2, WESTERN 1

Monache (5-1) picked up a huge win in its EYL opener at Western in a battle of two of the league’s top teams as Diego Casillas and Hector Robles scored for the Marauders.

PHS BOYS 4, KENNEDY 0

Porterville coach Angel Vallin thought his team played a little bit too loose in the first half, but overall was pleased as his team won its EYL opener.

“It was a good way to start the league,” Vallin said. “We started off a little bit, what I thought, a little sloppy.”

But PHS (3-0) was still able to take a 2-0 halftime lead. Chris Barraza crossed a pass from the left side to Ariel Rosso, whose shot deflected off of a defender into the net to give Porterville a 1-0 lead. Cesar Castelo then drove through the heart of the Kennedy defense and put the ball in the right corner of the net to give the Panthers a 2-0 halftime lead.

Castelo missed an excellent chance to score early in the second half, but Barraza went on to show off his ball control skills, driving through the Kennedy defense for a goal to make it 3-0. Castelo then made up for his earlier missed chance to drill a shot from the right side into the net to finish the scoring. “He ripped that one into the net,” Vallin said. “Cesar had a really good game.”

Porterville hasn’t allowed a goal in its first three games, but was fortunate when a Kennedy player missed a wide open net after beating the PHS defense. “We got a little lucky there,” Vallin said. “The kid took everything but the net.”

Vallin said his midfield of Rosso, Andrew Connolly, Barraza and Cesar Hernandez continues to play well. Goalies Lanron Acencio and Francisco Torres combined to post the shutout for PHS.

PHS GIRLS 7, KENNEDY 0

Alicia Dabney scored four goals and Kayla Irwin, Elicia Alvarez and Alex Benavidez won for Porterville in its EYL opener at Kennedy. Yesenia Suarez played well in the midfield and Monica Zavala had an outstanding game defensively for PHS.

PHS JV GIRLS 6, KENNEDY 0

Six different players scored for Porterville’s junior varsity. Clarissa Suarez began the scoring for PHS and Cynthia Vargas scored the final goal on a beautiful cross from Justice Carrillo. Gabby Pena and Sabrina Olmos also played well for Porterville. 

BASKETBALL

REDWOOD 54, LINDSAY GIRLS 34

Destiny Garcia had nine points, five steals and five assists, Rosie Esparza scored eight points and Christina Castro had seven points, five steals and four assists for Lindsay.

The Granite Hills and Monache girls soccer teams both had encouraging overtime openers to begin the East Yosemite League. For Granite, Mercedes Steidley made sure the Grizzlies wouldn’t lose.

But for Monache, the Marauders had to take a tough loss after almost crashing the East Yosemite League’s top two party which has been Tulare Western and Tulare Union. Steidley had a hat trick scoring all three goals for Granite in their 3-1 win over Delano at Rankin Stadium while Monache fell to Western 4-2 after leading 2-1 with 15 minutes left in regulation.

GRANITE 3, DELANO 1

Delano took a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick after a questionable foul call. But with 10 minutes left, Steidley sent a free kick into the net to force overtime. After a scoreless 10-minute first overtime, Steidley was taken down in the goal box twice, drawing two penalty kicks in the second 10 minutes. She converted both penalty kicks for the final margin.

“I think it came down to conditioning,” Granite Hills coach Gabe Rodriguez said. “We just kept putting the pressure on them. It was a good win for us.”

Rodriguez also praised the play of Crystal Chavez-Zavala and Debra Rodriguez. “She’s everywhere,” said the coach about Rodriguez. “She had a great night.”

WESTERN 4, MONACHE 2

Monache goalie Jordan Canale made several outstanding saves in overtime to keep the score at 2-2. But with five minutes left in the second overtime, Western took a 3-2. Western then scored an insurance goal after Monache was forced to push up offensively.

Western and Union were the top two teams in the EYL last season, but it looked like Monache was going to cut into the two schools dominance when it led 2-1. Canale also made a spectacular one-handed diving save to preserve the lead before Western tied it with 15 minutes left.

Monache tied the score 1-1 when Aren Bravo sent a ball forward to Elisabeth Gomez, who sent a shot from just outside the goal box into the upper left corner of the net.  Breanna Guzman then scored on a spectacular shot from the left side, sending the ball just under the crossbar to give the Marauders a 2-1 lead.

Monache’s best chance to score in the first half came Naomi Hernandez beat a defender, but was stopped when the goalie came out. Danica Taylor and Nadya Kasimoff also played well defensively for Monache.

“The whole team worked very hard for this,” Monache coach Peter Schalembier said. “They all did a tremendous job.”

MONACHE BOYS 2, WESTERN 1

Monache (5-1) picked up a huge win in its EYL opener at Western in a battle of two of the league’s top teams as Diego Casillas and Hector Robles scored for the Marauders.

PHS BOYS 4, KENNEDY 0

Porterville coach Angel Vallin thought his team played a little bit too loose in the first half, but overall was pleased as his team won its EYL opener.

“It was a good way to start the league,” Vallin said. “We started off a little bit, what I thought, a little sloppy.”

But PHS (3-0) was still able to take a 2-0 halftime lead. Chris Barraza crossed a pass from the left side to Ariel Rosso, whose shot deflected off of a defender into the net to give Porterville a 1-0 lead. Cesar Castelo then drove through the heart of the Kennedy defense and put the ball in the right corner of the net to give the Panthers a 2-0 halftime lead.

Castelo missed an excellent chance to score early in the second half, but Barraza went on to show off his ball control skills, driving through the Kennedy defense for a goal to make it 3-0. Castelo then made up for his earlier missed chance to drill a shot from the right side into the net to finish the scoring. “He ripped that one into the net,” Vallin said. “Cesar had a really good game.”

Porterville hasn’t allowed a goal in its first three games, but was fortunate when a Kennedy player missed a wide open net after beating the PHS defense. “We got a little lucky there,” Vallin said. “The kid took everything but the net.”

Vallin said his midfield of Rosso, Andrew Connolly, Barraza and Cesar Hernandez continues to play well. Goalies Lanron Acencio and Francisco Torres combined to post the shutout for PHS.

PHS GIRLS 7, KENNEDY 0

Alicia Dabney scored four goals and Kayla Irwin, Elicia Alvarez and Alex Benavidez won for Porterville in its EYL opener at Kennedy. Yesenia Suarez played well in the midfield and Monica Zavala had an outstanding game defensively for PHS.

PHS JV GIRLS 6, KENNEDY 0

Six different players scored for Porterville’s junior varsity. Clarissa Suarez began the scoring for PHS and Cynthia Vargas scored the final goal on a beautiful cross from Justice Carrillo. Gabby Pena and Sabrina Olmos also played well for Porterville. 

BASKETBALL

REDWOOD 54, LINDSAY GIRLS 34

Destiny Garcia had nine points, five steals and five assists, Rosie Esparza scored eight points and Christina Castro had seven points, five steals and four assists for Lindsay.