3A GIRLS SOCCER: Abbie Barnum leads Virgin Valley into semifinals

If a team is going to beat Virgin Valley’s girls soccer team, it is going to have to stop Abbie Barnum. As Sunrise Mountain found out Wednesday afternoon at Bettye Wilson Park, that’s easier said than done.

Barnum scored two goals and was a key piece in another to lead the Bulldogs over the Miners 4-2 in the Class 3A Southern Region quarterfinals.

“She’s a special player,” coach Bob Snell said. “It’s good to see her score.”

It took a while for Barnum and the Bulldogs (11-6-3) to get going. While the first 25 minutes were as one-sided in favor of Virgin Valley as a game could be, the Bulldogs were held scoreless. That was part of Sunrise Mountain’s game plan. It made sure to take Barnum out of the game by putting two defenders on her the whole time.

Barnum had scored 37 of Virgin Valley’s 59 goals entering play Wednesday. She had seen the double team before.

“Always,” Barnum said of the coverage.

But a player like that isn’g going to stay silent forever, and Barnum tallied No. 38 on the year in the 37th minute give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

“They were trying to take her out of it, and I think I would too,” Snell said. “Eventually, she’s such a good player, she’ll get her chances and if she converts on those chances, obviously that’s a plus for us.”

The second half was a different story. In the 49th minute Barnum collected the ball in her own zone and ran three-fourths of the way down the field before having her shot batted away. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, the ball deflected right to forward Ally Wright on the keeper’s right side. Wright drilled it off the far post and into the net.

A freshman, Wright is second on the team with 10 goals and Wednesday was her first playoff game.

“It felt awesome,” Wright said. “I wasn’t sure if it was going to go in but I was excited when it did.”

Sunrise Mountain (6-7-1) would get on the board in the 57th minute, but less than a minute later Virgin Valley’s Kari Wakefield restored the Bulldogs’ two-goal lead.

The Miners scored again in the 65th minute, then Barnum put the game on ice with her second of the game with 10 minutes to play.

Virgin Valley will advance to the semifinals at 6 p.m. on Thursday against Western.

The highlight of the game was Wright’s goal. Wright followed Barnum all the way down the field and was able to put away the rebound.

“That was gorgeous,” Snell said. “I think sometimes they rely on Abbie so much that it’s good to see the other kids step up.”

Tech 6, Desert Pines 1 — Six Roadrunners scored as they knocked off the Jaguars in the Class 3A Southern Region quarterfinals.

“I wasn’t happy with the first half but I was extremely happy with the second half ,” Tech coach Josh Jones said. “We had a good halftime talk. In the second half we came out and we played a lot better.”

The Roadrunners (13-3-3) scored four of their six goals in the second half. Veronica Gonzales, Valerie Webb, Melissa Lopez, Analysa Zepeda, Hannah Fletcher and Katie Orellana each scored a goal for Tech.

Gonzales had two assists, and Webb, Adriana Guzman, Samantha Elliott and Devina Gallegos each added an assist.

Tech will play Cheyenne at 4 p.m. on Thursday in the semifinals.

Lizuly Mireles scored for Desert Pines (4-10-1).

Western 4, Boulder City 0 — Ellyson Reynada had a hat trick to carry the Warriors over the Eagles in the Class 3A Southern Region quarterfinals.

Katherine Realegano also scored for Western (14-5-2).

Kirsten Molina had two assists, and Alejandra Alvarez-Torres made two saves in the shutout.

Boulder City fell to 6-9.

Cheyenne 2, Moapa Valley 0 – Shayna Thompson made six saves for the Desert Shields as they shut out the Pirates in the Class 3A Southern Region quarterfinals.

Yadira Erives had both goals for Cheyenne (11-5-4), and Isel Acosta had an assist.

Moapa Valley finished 7-6-3.

Contact Justin Emerson at jemerson@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2944. Follow @J15Emerson on Twitter.