Varsity girls soccer defeated Diamond Bar High School 2-0 on Jan. 23 at a home game, moving to third in the Hacienda League with a record of 4-2-1.
Diamond Bar kicked off to start the game. Walnut dribbled the ball up the field and took the first shot, only to get intercepted by the opposing goalie. Both sides fought for possession of the ball, with Walnut making a foul, resulting in a free kick for the Brahmas. The game continued going back and forth until a corner kick was made by the opponent and was blocked by goalkeeper junior Talisa Perez.
“I felt like in this game I finally capitalized on my one-on-one status, which is good because that’s what I got scored on at the game against Wilson,” Perez said. “By changing my mindset and knowing that my hard work is paying off little by little, I [think] that will show better results.”
The Mustangs then launched a counterattack after a punt from Perez. Defender sophomore Adrianna Estorge made a cross to Diamond Bar’s goal, and with applied pressure from left-wing junior Vianna Alvarez, the opposing goalie unintentionally struck the ball into their goal, resulting in an “own goal.”
“Compared to our last game against Diamond Bar, we’re passing more and playing with more intensity,” Estorge said. “Without working together and making those plays with my teammates, we wouldn’t have been making those goals.”
As Diamond Bar broke through Walnut’s defense, Perez made a sliding one-on-one save, deflecting the ball away from the goal. With two minutes left on the clock, Estorge passed the ball to Alvarez, who then scored a goal, setting the score for the first half to 2-0.
“I think I did good with playing the ball with my teammates,” Alvarez said. “One of the defenders dribbled the ball towards the middle and passed it to me which gave me the [opportunity] to score.”
In the second half, the intensity grew with Walnut and Diamond Bar trading possession with the ball. The Brahmas continued applying pressure to Walnut’s defense and attempted several shots on goals. In the final minute, a slide tackle was made by Perez, ending the game.
“I felt that our team performance was not to the level that we are accustomed to playing at due to player injuries we had during the game,” varsity girls soccer coach Manny Basulto said. “[However], the team showed a lot of resilience to stick together and resisted the pressure Diamond Bar put on us.”
