Esperanza Finally Puts It Together

Esperanza scored three second-half goals to defeat Canyon, 3-1, in a nonleague girls’ soccer game Thursday at Canyon.

The fourth-ranked Aztecs (2-0) struggled to put anything together, despite controlling the ball for most of the first half.

Esperanza had seven shots in the half, but only two were close to the net and goalkeeper Jennifer Monson made easy saves on those.

Canyon (1-1) didn’t get off a shot until the 36th minute when sophomore forward Jennifer Merell popped up the ball trying to set up a play in front of the goal. The high fly caught Esperanza goalkeeper Kristen Skinner (five saves) on her heels and the ball dropped into the net over her head for a 1-0 Comanche lead.

Esperanza quickly changed the momentum in the opening minute of the second half, on a lucky goal. Sophomore Heather Joblonsky crossed a pass and the ball took a bad bounce in front of Monson and curled around the post for the score.

Senior forward Allison Moreland followed with the eventual game-winner when senior midfielder Sarah Collier crossed the ball in front of the goal and, after a brief scramble, Moreland placed the ball in the corner out of Monson’s reach, giving Esperanza a 2-1 lead with 26 minutes remaining. Junior Gina Salinas added the final score, knocking in a shot with 10 minutes left.

“We’ve been struggling a little bit finding the goal,” Esperanza Coach Trevor Ickes said. “We had some great ball movement and passing, but we have to be able to finish.”