In the first cross-town rivalry matchup of the season Lehman girls soccer team bested Hays by score of 3-2 behind a strong Lady Lobos offensive attack on Tuesday night at Bob Shelton Stadium.
“First of all, I thought basically both teams played a very, very physical match,” Lehman head coach Sean Dickson said. “You could see the physicality in a rivalry game like this. Our girls did a really good job with their one-two touch passing, I thought that would be a really good combo play with teams.”
Lehman jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 26-minute mark in the first half on a slicing shot from Hannah Loya. The Lady Lobos worked hard in practice on establishing themselves on the left-hand side of the field, and Loya’s goal which came from the left-hand side, was an example of their hard work paying off.
“Hannah has been working on that finish and it was a left-footed finish,” Dickson said. “You know when your forwards are using the left foot that’s a plus, because a lot of them are right-foot dominant. But she put that in with her left foot and it was good to see, because she practices it.”
With 8:48 left in the first half, Hays tied the game at 1-1 with a goal by Gabriela Hernandez on a counter-attack. But, the Lady Lobos regained the lead shortly after on a score by Faith Howell in a crowded box with 2:30 on the clock, taking Lehman into halftime with a 2-1 lead.
In the second half Lehman extended its lead to 3-1 on a score from Delaney Alexander. The open shot at the back post came from a deflection off Hays goalkeeper Kate Foate on a Lehman corner kick, which then landed right in front of Alexander, who nailed the strike.
“Yeah she (Alexander) kind of snuck in there on the back post and she put it in,” said Dickson. “That goalkeeper was just solid in the back, and she found that seam on the backside. But it was good to get that in, you could see the excitement in her for Delaney getting that goal.”
Hays cut the lead to 3-2 with 11:06 left in the game on another counter-attack, giving Kayli Wagner a one-on-one shot where she sniped it past the Lady Lobos goalkeeper.
“I think Kayli did really good,” Hays head coach Mario Bellver said. “She is really quick, and she gives us the opportunity whenever we need to play counter to kick the ball up and she’ll make her own chances. Just like that, from nothing she can make something happen.”
Lehman was able to hold on for the win thanks to terrific team defense as Hays offensive attack amped up in the final 11 minutes of the match.
The victory gives the Lady Lobos a 4-2 record in District 25-6A, while the loss drops the Lady Rebels to a 1-3-2 record.
The rematch between Lehman and Hays will be at 7:45 p.m. Febr. 28 at Lehman Stadium.
