Canyon Beats El Modena in Girls’ Soccer

Canyon gave El Modena another lesson Tuesday on how tough it is to defend a league title.

When the Comanches (12-3-2, 1-0-1) beat the visiting Vanguards, 3-0, it was El Modena’s second consecutive league loss, one more than last season’s 9-1 record.

“[Canyon] played like they wanted it more,” El Modena Coach Eron Campuzano said. “We just didn’t have the heart today and we got beat by a much better team.”

Statistically, the teams weren’t that far apart; Canyon outshot El Modena, 11-8. But the difference in the game was Canyon attackers being in the right place at the right time.

The first goal came off a free kick by senior forward Kim Jents in the 21st minute. Jents’ kick bounced straight down off the crossbar, where two Canyon players were standing, and midfielder Sheena Hafazizadeh kicked it in from point-blank range for a 1-0 lead.

Canyon took a 2-0 advantage three minutes before halftime when sophomore midfielder Ashley Gerace headed in a corner kick.

Meanwhile, El Modena (6-7-2, 0-2) was too busy playing defense and keeping the ball off its side of the field to gain any kind of offensive flow. When the Vanguards managed to venture into scoring territory, the possessions were short-lived.

“Our forwards put a lot of pressure on them and we controlled the middle,” Canyon Coach Alex Camargo said. “When you control the middle, you control the game.”

Rachel Browne completed the scoring midway through the second half after El Modena tried to clear the ball from inside the penalty box. After the ball bounced off a couple of players, Browne kicked it in past goalkeeper Jackie James (seven saves), who was taken out of position by the action.