Friday provided vastly different results for Hilmar High School’s varsity soccer teams, each always in strong contention for Trans-Valley League titles from season to season.
The boy’s team maintained a dominant position atop the TVL standings with a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Indians on the road.
Back at Joe Mattos Field in Hilmar, the girls soccer match was more reminiscent of a poker game with five cards issued to the Lady ‘Jackets, who suffered a 4-0 loss to the Indians, a program that has won the last six TVL titles.
The Hilmar boys remain undefeated against conference opponents at 8-0 with four regular season matches remaining, the next coming Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. against current runner-up Ripon Christian (5-2-1).
Playing hero for the boys was senior forward Miguel Gonzalez, who tapped in the winning goal following a frantic sequence involving sophomore striker Zabdiel Vasquez.
Vasquez, who scored the second goal of the match, used his speed to evade four Ripon defenders and position himself in the open field with only the goalkeeper to beat. Following a diving save, the ball slowly rolled in front of the goal line towards the right post, with Gonzalez there to place it in the back of the net.
Also scoring for the Yellowjackets, now 12-2-2 overall, was junior Blake Vitorino.
The Lady ‘Jackets, who have appeared in consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section championship games, dropped to 5-2-1 in TVL play, while the Indians padded their league-leading record to 6-1-1. The Hilmar girls will host Ripon Christian at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Knights sit in third place and sport a 5-3 conference record, one of the wins being a 3-0 rout of the Lady ‘Jackets on Jan. 7. The task at hand won’t be much easier, as head coach Guy Bettencourt, top scorer Brisa Gonzales and forward Mikayla Arteaga were each issued red cards.
The Lady ‘Jackets trailed almost immediately, as the Indians scored a pair of goals within the first seven minutes of the match — the first a floater over the heads of Hilmar defenders and goalkeeper, and the second coming on a penalty kick.
Hilmar had its chances with four shots on goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, including Gonzales just missing a pair of close range free kicks in the 47th and 51st minutes.
Shortly after, junior Raylynn Mendoza possessed the ball deep in Ripon territory on multiple occasions, and got a shot on goal off in the latter stages of the game.
The physicality increased between the teams as time winded down, with the Hilmar sideline pleading for multiple foul and penalty calls. The no-calls, paired with the missed scoring opportunities, boiled over on the pitch after the final whistle, leading to the red cards issued to Bettencourt and Gonzalez.
The Lady ‘Jackets, now 13-6-2 overall, will be led by assistant and program alumna Betzy Chavez on Wednesday as they try to stay within reach of the conference crown and remain in postseason contention.
