Nothing is ever certain, especially in a Pitman High-Turlock High crosstown rivalry game.
For the Pitman girls soccer team on Thursday night, it wasn’t until the 64th minute when senior forward Hannah
Verschelden kicked in a 20-yard goal to give her team a one-goal edge that the Pride thought about a win.
“I think we have higher expectations when we play Turlock,” Pitman goalkeeper Sierrah Miller said.
The Pride held on for the 2-1 win under the bright lights of Debely Stadium in Central California Conference action, marking the first time in school history that Pitman has beaten the Bulldogs twice in the same season. On March 22, the Pride escaped with a 1-0 victory.
The crosstown rivals will meet for a third and final time in the regular-season finale on May 3 at Debely Stadium.Pitman’s other score on Thursday was a Karina Maldonado header from a corner kick by Verschelden.
The Bulldogs (7-7-2 overall, 3-4-2 CCC) made it interesting when Alissa Dahl went one-on-one with Miller and won, kicking the goal in for a 1-1 tie. But then, Verschelden managed to provide the late-game heroics.
“The girls had a great game,” Pitman coach Oscar Mercado said. “I was really impressed on how they performed. Minimal mistakes were made, allowing us the win. When you play a team like Turlock, the team which makes the fewest mistakes usually wins.”
It was a much-needed win for the Pride, who suffered their first league loss to Atwater High last week before tying with Merced High on Tuesday. The win over Turlock gives Pitman a 7-1-1 league record with six games left on the schedule, as the Pride improved to 14-4-1 overall.
“Our captains pumped us up before the game,” said Miller, adding that the Pitman midfielders helped make the jobs of the forwards a little bit easier. “Winning this game hopefully will give us more drive to beat the other teams. Because I know we can do it, we have already.”
To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.
