Yoakum High School Lady Bulldog Soccer Team tries harder in second half in loss against Gonzales

The Yoakum High School (YHS) Lady Bulldog Soccer Team started off with little energy but gradually got more lively as the game progressed.

The revitalization came a little late as the Lady Bulldogs fell short to Gonzales 4-1 at home on March 3.

“We came out a little flat at the start, “ Lady Bulldogs head coach Melissa Colman said. “We were a little dull but we came back in the second half with more passion. I think if we would have played the whole game the way we did the last 10 minutes, it would have been a different game.”

It had been a little bit of a schedule overload as including this game, the Lady Dogs have played four games in six days and some of the players have also taken part in other spring sports activities during the same time frame.

“My girls struggled. Their bodies could not keep up,” Colman said.

Neither team could get a good chance in the first nine minutes and Gonzales broke the stalemate 10 minutes in when Yasmine Barrientos received the ball close to the goal and scored.

About three minutes, the Lady ‘Dogs got their first chance with a shot from Jackie Melendez that went high.

Around 25 minutes left in the first half, Gonzales had a shot that was deflected out for a corner kick. Barrientos put a shot wide after eventually getting the ball after the corner kick.

With 16 minutes to go in the half, Yoakum was awarded a free kick 40 yards from goal. Makayla Olmedo put the shot high.

With three minutes left in the half the Lady Apaches doubled their lead as Abbey Reyna took a shot from about 15 or 20 yards that deflected off a defender and into the net.

The Lady ‘Dogs got the first chance of the second half as five minutes in, Bri Lopez put a shot wide right.

10 minutes later, Gonzales earned a direct kick on the left side just out of the penalty box; the shot was cleared out by the Yoakum defense.

Gonzales went up 3-0 with about 10 minutes left in the game; they were awarded a free kick 39 yards from goal and Samarah Olmedo put the free kick into the net.

Yoakum responded less than three minutes later with Emmie Leftwich got a pass on the left side of the box. She closed the distance to the goal and put a shot into the bottom right of the goal to get Yoakum within 3-1.

Gonzales closed out scoring with just a couple of minutes left as Adriana Pop finished off a shot.