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Second round loss for Bulldog girls soccer
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Turlock High senior Daisy Martinez looks to make a deep pass during Friday’s 1-0 loss to Pleasant Grove in the second round of the Division-I Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs (EDDIE RUIZ/The Journal).

Friday’s quarterfinal round contest was a heartbreaker for the Turlock High girls soccer team when they hosted Pleasant Grove and fell in a close 1-0 game in the second round of the Division-I Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.

“We had our chances, but of course we didn’t get to finish our chances,” said Turlock head coach Temo Arteaga.

It took 38 minutes for anybody to get on the board when PG was able to capitalize on a miscue.

Abby McCann notched the lone goal of the game for PG as they went into the half with a 1-0 lead.

“I feel like the first half they just didn’t bring the energy or have the intensity like we did in the second half,” said Arteaga. “In the second half we were winning first in headers in the air and first to the ball. We were winning the fight to the ball since the girls were hungrier and knew what was at stake.”

Down 1-0 in the second half, Turlock began to press forward and push ahead offensively.

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Stefanie Zamora of Turlock High holds on to the ball during Friday’s 1-0 loss to Pleasant Grove (EDDIE RUIZ/The Journal).

Despite the effort in the second half, PG made it challenging as they would attack any ball handler with quick double teams to steal possession.

“In the second half I didn’t see Pleasant Grove attacking us, so we felt more confident but couldn’t finish,” said Arteaga. “Overall [it was a] great season.”

Turlock saw multiple corner kick chances and a pair of set piece opportunities on the attacking third, but no scores came from them.

PG held on defensively as they secured their one-goal victory, handing Turlock just their second loss all season.

“I was very proud with how they finished the game and finished the season. They came out fighting and that is all I can ask of the girls,” said Arteaga.

Turlock closes out the year with an overall record of 21-2-2.

“Yeah, the record looked nice but this team is by far the better team we have had in a long time,” said Arteaga.  

Next season looks bright as Turlock graduates nine while but return over half the squad.

“Those nine will go on to college, but I feel we have a great core returner of juniors, sophomores and freshman who got to experience playoffs and they can see the level of play and hard work it takes to get to the next round,” Arteaga added.