Lady Bulldog Soccer Team wins 2-0 against Lady Rockets
It is the coach that sets lineups, formations and tactics for soccer as well as make adjustments.
But in a case of slight role reversal, the Yoakum Lady Bulldogs girls soccer made a tactical suggestion to head coach Melissa Colman in putting speedy defender Aubrie Jendrzey up front to give her chances to score.
The change was helpful as Jendrzey scored two goals in the final 17 minutes of Friday’s game against San Antonio John F. Kennedy, a 2-0 Yoakum victory.
“My girls gave me the confidence they could hold the back line to put my strong defender (Aubrie Jendrzey) up front. They suggested it and I listened. I took the chance of putting Aubrie up front and it paid off.”
Around the 16:39 mark of the second half, Jendrzey applying pressure up front, won a ball in the middle of the box, got a little closer and sent a shot into the bottom middle of the net.
Around 10 minutes later, the Lady ‘Dogs had a shot from the middle by Rubi Martinez that was saved.
With 6:06 left in the game, Emmie Leftwich played a pass through the middle that Jendrzey ran onto and placed the shot into the bottom right for the 2-0 lead.
The Lady Rockets put a couple of shots on the Yoakum goal but both were saved by Gaby Gonzalez.
Later, the Lady ‘Dogs had a direct free kick from 46 yards out taken by Leah Muenich and the shot was saved.
After starting district with a 1-1 tie against San Antonio Young Women’s Leadership Academy, Yoakum has ran off three straight wins against San Antonio Memorial, Gonzales and now JFK.
The Lady ‘Dogs currently sit in second place in the district.
“The girls have some grit this year. They are working very hard in practice and it is finally starting to show on the field,” Colman said. “They are not quitting; they are not giving up. They are grinding through it and that makes me happy.”
Yoakum started the match with some offensive pressure— Jackie Mendez got free down the right side and sent in a cross to the middle that was cleared out less than two minutes into the game. At the 37:40 mark, Daphne Oviedo got off a shot that was saved.
The Lady Rockets got their first shot as Adamary Mireles put a shot wide left at 36:59 mark.
Yoakum won a direct free kick less than 20 yards out that was taken by Oviedo.
Around 20:19, Yoakum took a corner kick that got the ball bouncing around the JFK box before the keeper collected it.
The Lady Rockets had a shot on goal from the right side by Mireles that was saved by Gonzalez
The Lady ‘Dogs opened the second half with plenty of offensive pressure with Jendrzey taking a pair of shots that both went wide in the first five minutes.
With 28:37 left in the game, defender Taylor Velek turned a longrange clearance into a ball to Jendrzey that the keeper cleared out for a corner
In the next couple of minutes, JFK had a couple of chances that were cleared out by the Yoakum defense.
YOAKUM 1, GONZALES 0
The Yoakum Lady Bulldogs soccer team pulled off a historical accomplishment on Feb. 6 at home against Gonzales.
Oviedo put a shot in the back of the net in the opening 10 minutes of the game and the defense held on for a 1-0 win, the first-ever win by Yoakum over the rival Lady Apaches
“Ecstatic is an understatement. This has been a goal of ours for some time and it finally fell into place,” Colman said. “These girls have been working hard and making the adjustments needed. I am beyond proud of my team.”