The Hilmar High girls soccer team had high expectations coming off a boys soccer championship title during the fall and were driven and determined to do the same in the spring, but it just didn't come together for the 'Jackets.

The Yellowjackets instead fell to No. 2 Capital Christian 3-0 in the opening round of the Division V Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.

“Just unlucky... I mean they were beatable,” said Hilmar head coach Louie Bettencourt.

For the first 10 minutes, Hilmar, which was playing without four-plus regular starters, was able to press hard and create some opportunities as they struck the back of the net and maintained possession.

“A little unfortunate we brought up some JV players and they played,” said Bettencourt. “Never recovered after the injuries we had during the year, it would have made the difference, but that is the way it goes.”

Then a 1-on-1 occurred in the 13th minute for CC, who took advantage and broke the game wide open.

“We had our chances but they took advantage of theirs, they didn't look as impressive, we had a chance but made mistakes and it just took that mistake to change the game,” said Bettencourt.

Hilmar never recovered and allowed a second goal in the winding seconds of the first half, going into the breakdown 2-0.

CC scored their third and final goal in the 70th minute.

“Our mistakes were bad but they were very beatable, Ripon should beat them,” said Bettencourt.

Hilmar finished third in the Trans-Valley League with a 6-4-2 record and crept their way into the postseason with Hughson trailing by a few points.

“It was a good season to accomplish what we did with all the young players coming back next year,” Bettencourt added. “They did well for the time they played together.”

The next season for Hilmar girls soccer will commence during the winter for the first time in the district and should begin after the conclusion of fall sports.