After a historic 16-win season, the best in program history, the Denair High girls soccer team faced the challenge of overcoming the loss of seven key players to graduation, including its second-leading scorer in Abby Hernandez.
While many would anticipate a falloff, it’s been anything but that for the Coyotes. Entering Monday’s match, Denair had 10 wins and was in second place in the Southern Athletic League standings. The key behind their success has been building off last season’s experience with a group of underclassmen that includes eight freshmen players stepping up. The team is led by two siblings, Jazmin and Galilea Padilla.
That cohesion was on full display when the Coyotes won by a convincing 8-0 score against Gustine on the front end of a Monday doubleheader at Jack W. Lytton Stadium to remain unbeaten through six consecutive matches.
The Coyotes improved to 11-3-4 overall and 8-1-1 in SAL play to stay firmly in second place in the league standings. The Reds, however, fell to 4-12 overall and 3-8 against league opponents.
Leading Denair was none other than junior forward Jazmin Padilla, who recorded her first-ever haul-trick with seven goals. She continued to build off of her breakout sophomore season, as she increased her season total to 44 goals, three shy of breaking last season’s total. She said her confidence grew from having played at the varsity level as an underclassman and earning the trust of her peers.
“Knowing I have a big [impact] on this team and having the coaches and players trust me, it makes me feel better,” she said.
Her younger sister, Galilea Padilla ,followed suit with a goal to increase her season total to eight. As the program lost its key contributors, Jazmin Padilla admitted it was a “big toll” on the team, but having her sister on the team helped her.
“It was obviously hard because we had five seniors that were all [playing] in the middle,” Jazmin Padilla said. “My sister came up and she was a huge help.”
After missing their first two shots at goal, Denair scored the first goal of the afternoon in the fourth minute after Galilea Padilla kicked the ball towards the upper right side of the net. Three minutes later, Jazmin Padilla dribbled past Reds defenders and delivered her first goal to extend the Coyotes’ lead to two. She scored another goal in the 12th minute to take a 3-0 lead. She followed up a minute later with another goal to make it 4-0.
With the opening half coming to an end, Gustine keeper Elizabeth Meza blocked Jazmin Padilla’s shot attempt, but the ball ricocheted off her hands which gave the junior a second chance to score for a five point lead for Denair.
The second half was more or less the same as every Gustine missed shot led to more Jazmin Padilla scores in the 52nd and 53rd minutes. The junior forward concluded her performance by scoring her seventh goal in the 56th minute.
With two games left in the regular season, the Coyotes will travel to Waterford (2-18, 1-10 SAL) on Friday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff. Both teams previously matched up on Jan.16 when Denair won convincingly, 7-2.
BOYS: Gustine 3, Denair 2
On the back end of the home doubleheader action Monday, Denair’s boys team fell to the Reds by a 3-2.
The Coyotes fell to 8-7-3 overall and 5-4-1 in Southern Athletic League play, while Gustine ended its regular season at 8-9-2 overall and 6-4-2 against SAL opponents.
Seniors Goliath Padilla and Octavio Valle each contributed a goal for the Coyotes, but it wasn’t enough to sustain Reds strikers Alex Quezada’s brace and Jaime Gomez’s goal. Throughout the match, Denair committed numerous fouls and allowed Gustine to get second opportunities.
“Those rebounds [were] really [a] mistake,” said Denair head coach Antonio Padilla. “Between who’s gonna clear those little things, you give the whole team the game pretty much.”
In the 12th minute, Gustine midfielder Jesus Angulo had a clear shot at goal, but his attempt was blocked by Denair sophomore Zane Simbalenko. Junior Fabian Sanchez, nine minutes later, missed his shot attempt to put the Coyotes ahead.
Goliath Padilla ended the scoring drought by delivering the first goal of the evening to give Denair a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute, prompting a celebration with his teammates. That celebratory moment, however, was short-lived as Gomez immediately responded back with a goal of his own to tie the match. From that point on, the momentum shifted to the Reds, wh took a 2-1 lead after Quezada kicked the ball towards the right side of the goal in the final minute of the first half.
Denair missed two opportunities to tie the match within the first ten minutes of the second half as Valle missed a header and Goliath Padilla’s shot attempt went to the right side of the goalpost.
The Coyotes committed a foul in the 61st minute, resulting in a penalty kick for the Reds. Quezada delivered on the kick to extend Gustine’s lead, 3-1.
Valle scored a goal in the final two minutes to cut the Coyotes’ deficit to one. After the Reds missed their shot at goal, Denair had a final chance to avoid a loss. Simbalenko dribbled past two Gustine defenders down the field and shot at goal, but his attempt was blocked by keeper Baylor Bloom.
With the two games left in the regular season, Denair will travel to Waterford (7-9-4, 6-3-2 SAL) on Friday for a 5 p.m. kickoff. Both teams previously played against one another on Jan. 16, where the Coyotes won 3-0.
