For the second consecutive season, the Hilmar High varsity girls soccer team will advance to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-V semifinal after they defeated Marysville High on Wednesday from home, 2-0.

“I was very pleased with the team. The first half effort we played really well and had a third goal that was close after an offside, could have been,” said Hilmar head coach Doug Delay. “The girls came out determined and played possession and in the second half it was a bit wider open, we didn’t play quite as well, but we didn’t make any mistakes.”

The Yellowjackets notched a pair of first half goals from JuliAnn Machado and Cheyanne Cabral and were able to fend off the visiting Indians in the opening round of the postseason.

“We didn’t need to risk anything in the second half, so we had some uncharacteristic mistakes in the second half, they had a tough team… a good team in Marysville,” said Delay. “Good effort in the second half and very happy getting the win and we don’t have time to rest on that.”

As a team, Hilmar finished with 11 shots for the game. Goalkeeper Mikayla Schmidt finished the game with a pair of saves.

Hilmar has now won three straight heading into their semifinal battle, where they are now just a single win away from reaching the Section final.

Hilmar’s scheduled for a rematch of last year’s first round playoff match against Venture Academy at home at 3 p.m. Friday. Hilmar beat VA in last year’s first round match back on Feb. 22, 2017, 2-1.

“Venture is a very tough team with a lot of speed and we just need to come in focused and not change anything, and see if we can hopefully get the win,” Delay added.