West Ranch High girls soccer’s Abby Ashlock stood on the sidelines for a throw-in, but hesitated.
“Do you want it West Ranch?” she shouted hoarsely. “Do you want it?”
The Wildcats scored a second-half equalizer but couldn’t push past a Hart High team that wouldn’t back down Tuesday afternoon at Hart.
The 1-1 draw was the Indians’ and Wildcats’ third tie in as many league games.
Hart and West Ranch have tied in each of their last six meetings and in seven of their last eight.
“Overall I was happy with the effort,” said Hart coach Guilherme Mitrovitch, whose team is 12-4-2 overall and 0-0-3 in league. “I think we’ve been doing some really good stuff. It’s just the third game and we believe we’re still in the race.”
The first half remained scoreless until the 22nd minute, when Hart’s Brooke Rickard scored a second-chance goal after the ball bounced off of West Ranch keeper Allison Jacobs.
Leading up to halftime and well into the second half, play consisted of aggressive midfield battles. The Wildcats (6-3-5, 0-0-3) switched out six midfielders over the course of the game in order to find a rhythm against the Indians.
Momentum swung toward the Cats at the halfway mark of the second half when Aliyah Satterfield sent the ball toward the left post, just out of Hart keeper Victoria Ryan’s reach, after winning a one-on-one battle at the top of the box.
It was West Ranch’s first goal of league play and Satterfield’s 13th of the season.
“I was just thinking, ‘Just get it,’” Satterfield said. “It doesn’t matter if I have to hurt myself or take out a girl, just do whatever it takes to get the goal.”
The Wildcats will look for their first win against Canyon on Friday, while the Indians search for theirs against Valencia on the same day.
Saugus 1, Golden Valley 0
Breeanna San Lucas scored the lone goal of the match, bringing the Centurions’ record to 5-8-3 overall and 1-0-2 in league. The Grizzlies are now 5-8-2 and 0-3.
Valencia 3, Canyon 1
Alexa Trujillo, Autumn Moore and Hannah Mateus each scored for the Vikings, who are now 9-5-2 overall, 2-0-1 in league play. Alyssa Aguilar converted on a penalty kick for the Cowboys’ goal. Canyon is 5-8-2 and 1-0-2.
