LITTLE ROCK – Three goals and a clean sheet earned the Warren Lady Jack Soccer Club a win on the road at Mills High Tuesday afternoon.
Playing without their main striker up front, Azul Garcia, the orange and black still looked sharp from kickoff. Sarah Villeda and Jennifer Carpenter each did a nice job of applying pressure in the opening minutes. Carpenter nearly put Warren on top in the 9th minute with a shot on goal. Her teammate Tessa Andrus also came close mere seconds later, but the score remained 0-0. Andrus came close again in the 11th minute from a free kick, but the shot drifted just high of the crossbar.
Top photo: Angie Cortes looks on awaiting a goal kick from Mills Tuesday afternoon. Photo by Saline River Chronicle.
By Rob Reep
Saline River Chronicle
This Lady Jack match report is brought to you by:
Warren was clearly the better side in the opening 20 minutes, but the breakthrough wouldn’t come until the 26th after a Mills mistake at the back. A keeper clearance for the Lady Comets was miss-hit. With the keeper out of the goal near the edge of the penalty box, Warren’s Angie Cortes, in a moment of great individual awareness, put the ball in from 25 yards out to give the Lady Jacks a 1-0 advantage.
A very similar situation happened in the 35th minute, though this time from a goal kick. The Mills keeper’s kick was short and at Cortes. Angie wasted little time, booting home the shot to double the Lady Jack lead at 2-0.
Warren keeper Valeria Navarro was called into action soon afterward, and she passed with flying colors, making the save and keeping the Lady Comets off the board.
Mills threatened once more late in the first half, but Victoria O’Neill, an important member of Warren’s back four defense, swept the play clear to retain the two-goal lead at the half for Warren. O’Neill was named the Que Lindo Michoacan Lady of the Match.
Just three minutes after the restart, Tessa Andrus provided the final nail. Yet again, the goal came from another poor Mills goal kick. Andrus laser the shot into the top left corner.
Cortes came close to adding a fourth goal and securing a hat trick, but the final touch wasn’t there late on. Warren won by the final score of 3-0 over the Mills Lady Comets.
Warren improves to 3-4 overall on the season and 2-2 in the 4A East Conference. They are scheduled to get over a week off before traveling across the Saline for the Saline River Derby Thursday, April 13, vs. Monticello. Kickoff is set for 5:00 p.m.
