WSOC: Lady Riders fall flat in second half, 5-1
Maverick player during action Friday night at Roughrider Stadium.
Marshall picked up the win, 5-1. (Photo by John Krueger)
CENTER -- The Center Lady Riders found out Friday night that it doesn't matter how well a team plays in the first half if it doesn't continue its momentum in the final period.
After playing what could have been one of their best half of the season here at Roughrider Stadium against Marshall, the Lady Riders saw their 1-1 tie with the Lady Mavs disappear in the final 35 minutes as they dropped a 5-1 decision.
The setback snapped Center's two-match winning streak as it saw its season record slip to 2-4. CHS will now go on the road for a pair of matches, heading to Tatum on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. contest against the Lady Eagles. The Lady Riders will then visit Carthage on Friday at 6 p.m. The next home match for CHS is next Tuesday, Feb. 8, when it opens District 35-4A action against Hudson.
The setback also ruined an excellent defensive performance by Center goalkeeper Raquel Hernandez. Hernandez made several diving stops in the first half as she only allowed one goal. But the Lady Mavericks continued to put the pressure on in the second half and were able to push four goals past her.
"Raquel did a super job in goal for us," said Center Lady Rider Head Coach Jonathan Vick. "She kept battling all night and I was very proud of the way she protected the net."
Vick was pleased with his team's play at the end of the first half as the Lady Riders continued the aggressive play that they did in wins over Tatum (4-0) and Mount Pleasant (3-0) last week. But they didn't continue the play in the second half of Friday's match.
"I thought the first half was about as well as we've played this season," Vick continued. "But we just lost our intensity in the second half. When you're playing good teams like Marshall, you can't afford to let up. We held our own in the first half and were in excellent position to pull off the win.
"The in the second half the 'wheels fell off' and we made a lot of mistakes that got us into trouble. Give the Marshall players for taking advantage of them and getting the win."
The Lady Mavericks took a 1-0 lead in first 20 minutes of the opening period but Center had an excellent opportunity to tie the score up with just over 15 minutes left in the half. Norma Ruiz crossed the ball from right to left, feeding the ball in the direction of Maria Medrano, but Medrano couldn't get to the ball and the Marshall goalie scooped it up.
"That was a great opportunity," Vick explained. "We've got to capitalize on that kind of golden opportunities because in a close game they are huge. We just didn't make the play and finish."
Finally with just over 11 minutes left in the half, Berenice Esparza had a free kick about 35 yards from the goal. Her long kick was played well by the Lady Maverick goalkeeper, but she slipped and lost the ball. An alert Ruiz took the ball and slammed it into the goal from point blank range to tie the score with 11:01 left in the half.